Rally Mexico 2020
17h
Ott Tänak (Hyundai) took control of the Rally Mexico by taking the scratch in the 31,45km El Chocolate. The reigning champion was ahead of Sébastien Ogier and the Ford of Teemu Suninen by a good ten seconds. Esapekka Lappi (M-Sport) follows more than 18 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota).
Elfyn Evans (Toyota) is struggling to open the road and is 26 seconds behind the scratch. Only Gus Greensmith (M-Sport) was slower.
Dani Sordo (Hyundai) failed after more than 5 minutes due to a radiator problem forcing him to stop and then drive at idle speed. The Spaniard could retire from his first stage of the WRC season.
Ott Tänak finds himself in the lead with around ten seconds ahead of Teemu Suninen and Sébastien Ogier. Thierry Neuville follows more than 17 seconds ahead of Esapekka Lappi, Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and Gus Greensmith.
17h
Sordo confirms that it was his radiator that failed. The Hyundai driver is more than 5 minutes late and could retire.
17h
Greensmith is struggling, half a minute behind Tänak's scratch. The M-Sport driver is at the bottom of the standings while his teammate Suninen is at the front.
16h
Suninen is 10”5 behind Tänak and a few tenths behind Ogier. The M-Sport driver is closest to the provisional leader with 3 tenths ahead of the Frenchman's Yaris WRC.
16h
Sordo moves at reduced speed. The Spaniard clearly has a problem with a suspicious noise coming from the mechanics.
16h
Tänak hits very hard with more than 10 seconds ahead of Ogier. The reigning champion has nearly 11 seconds ahead of the Frenchman overall, Neuville is already more than 17 seconds behind. “The grip wasn't great, but I think we had a good SS. »
16h
Sordo was able to get back on the road but his weekend already seems ruined.
16h
Lappi is the closest to Ogier with almost 8s behind. The M-Sport driver is 10 seconds from the lead of the race. “No grip,” he explains.
16h
Rovanperä sets the 3rd time, a good dozen seconds behind his teammate Ogier. The Finn lost time in the last km and found himself almost 8s behind Neuville in the general classification. The Toyota driver ended up with a damaged front wheel.
16h
Sordo is arrested in the special! The Hyundai driver is taking part in his first WRC rally of the season with his team. The hood is raised.
16h
Ogier sticks almost 9s to Neuville and 16s to Tänak. The Frenchman benefits from a better swept road.
16h
Ogier had a shock in the special but the Toyota driver seems able to keep a high pace since he is almost 5 seconds behind his teammate.
16h
Neuville finished with a lead of 7″2 over Evans and was ahead of the championship leader by more than 8s in the standings. “It was very slippery. The rear was moving a lot and I had to take my foot off. »
16h
Rovanperä is currently the fastest in the special with 3 tenths ahead of Ogier.
16h
Evans: “It's very hard, the grip is very bad. »
16h
Evans sets a first time of 24'00"9 at the end of the 31,45km.
16h
Neuville is 5s ahead of Evans towards the end of the special.
16h
Ogier (Toyota) is currently the fastest with more than 2 seconds ahead of Neuville (Hyundai) and more than 3 seconds over Evans (Toyota).
16h
Neuville is the provisional leader of Rally Mexico with a second ahead of Evans and around 2s on Tänak and Suninen. The first 9 crews are grouped together in less than 5 seconds after the first 2 super specials contested the day before.
16h
The first stage is launched with Evans in the special.
