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The crews will switch to asphalt starting this Saturday. The second stage, which will start at 8 a.m., will be the longest of the Rally de Catalunya with 121,86km timed.
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Teemu Suninen (Ford) remains at the head of WRC 2 with more than a minute ahead of Simone Tempestini (DS 3) and Jan Kopecky (Skoda). Yoann Bonato (DS 3) is still 12 minutes from the head of the category after losing minutes by wrist following engine shutdowns this morning.
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The provisional classification of SS6:
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Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) once again took the scratch in Terra Alta, the sixth special stage of the Rally de Catalunya. The Championship leader completed the 38,95km in 24'18''9, eight tenths ahead of Kris Meeke (Citroën).
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Ott Tänak (M-Sport) followed three seconds behind, while Dani Sordo (Hyundai) and Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) finished more than seven seconds behind. Mads Ostberg (M-Sport) finished 14 seconds behind while still being disturbed by dust in the passenger compartment.
Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) retired before the start of the special with a mechanical problem while he was in seventh place.
Andreas Mikkelsen retains the lead of the Rally de Catalunya with 1s ahead of Sébastien Ogier. Kris Meeke follows 4''1 behind the Frenchman, ahead of Ott Tänak (M-Sport) and Mads Ostberg by a few seconds, grouped in eight tenths. Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville remain on the outskirts of the top five.
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Ostberg sets the 7th fastest time, 14 seconds behind Ogier. The Norwegian was again disturbed by dust in the passenger compartment but he nevertheless remained in the top five, 8 tenths behind Tänak.
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Lefebvre achieves the 9th provisional time, 24 seconds behind the benchmark. The Citroën driver remains 3”3 ahead of Lappi in the general classification.
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Meeke is closest to Ogier with 8 tenths behind. The Citroën driver follows the Frenchman at 1″6 in the general classification. “It’s a good position. I should be able to take advantage of it in the asphalt stages. »
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Mikkelsen only set the 5th time, 7″8 behind Ogier. The Hyundai driver only maintains a 1″ lead over the Frenchman in the general classification on the evening of the first stage. “I think something happened with the suspension. For a moment I thought I had a flat tire. The main thing is that we are here. It's still a good day. »
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Lappi finished 2″5 behind his teammate Hänninen, 18″5 from the provisional scratch. “The suspension is too nervous. » The Finn is more than a minute from the lead of the race.
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Hänninen achieves the 5th provisional time, 16s behind the benchmark, 13s behind Neuville. The Toyota driver is more than 20 seconds behind the Belgian in the general classification.
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Evans is still losing ground with more than 48 seconds behind the provisional scratch. The Welshman is more than a minute from the lead in the race and seems to be struggling with the new dirt tires developed by Dmack.
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Sordo is the slowest with 7″6 behind Ogier. The Spaniard remains 4”5 behind Tänak in the general classification.
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Tänak follows 3″5 from the provisional scratch and is now almost 5s behind Ogier in the general classification with 6″5 ahead of Neuville. “I lost my brakes for a while. »
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Neuville follows Ogier just 3s behind. The Belgian remains less than 12 seconds behind the Championship leader in the general classification. “It wasn't easy when taking two spare wheels. I got lost in the settings when I reached the asphalt. »
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Ogier achieved a time of 24'18″9, more than half a minute better than the scratch achieved by Mikkelsen this morning. “I am satisfied with this day. We didn't expect that much. We follow the progress of Thierry (Neuville). »
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Neuville finds himself 3″7 behind Ogier in the 3rd sector. The Belgian was however ahead in the first partials.
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The provisional classification of SS5:
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The abandonment is confirmed for Latvala. Toyota has not yet explained the origin of the problem.
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Latvala did not start SS6. The Toyota driver appears to be the victim of a mechanical problem. The Finn was in 7th place ahead of Neuville and Hänninen.
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The first crews are in the second passage of Terra Alta, the longest special of the event with 38,95km (including 7km on asphalt), which is the justice of the peace of the first stage. Mikkelsen took the scratch in the first run with 24'55"0.
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