Friday afternoon smiled on Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). The Belgian on his home ground of the Ypres Rally erased half of his deficit in the space of two stages at the head of the event. After the sixth SS, the French-speaking rider is only 4″3 behind Elfyn Evans (Toyota), who on the other hand has slightly increased his lead over Ott Tänak (Hyundai, + 2″3).

In WRC2, Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën) remains leader in the category ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda) and Yohan Rossel (Citroën). The rain was late in coming while several drivers like those of M-Sport Ford were counting on a downpour to catch up.

SS6 ranking:

General classification :

Thierry Neuville quickly returns to the race lead! The Belgian is now only 4″3 behind Elfyn Evans, who increased his margin over Ott Tänak to 2″3.

Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala spoke about Kalle Rovanperä's accident this morning.

“Kalle's note was slightly wrong. The note about the left turn said it was “short”. So, after the right turn, he opened the trajectory and dived very early at the apex of the left turn. But as this turn was not that short, it comes out very wide at the exit.

He began to understeer due to his premature entry into the corner. That's why he went off the road. This has nothing to do with a problem with the car. If you look in detail at the angle of the wheels, you see that Kalle steers very early, then straightens the steering wheel while making a course correction. As he adjusts his curve, the car begins to understeer. »