Hampered by the rain, Ogier finds himself under threat from Solberg: "We'll have to keep trying."

After skimming over the debates on Friday, Sébastien Ogier experienced a more contrasting start to the second leg. From SS9 onwards, the driver Toyota had to settle for third place, behind Elfyn Evans and an increasingly aggressive Oliver Solberg.

« It's the same gap as yesterday at midday. We've lost a little ground., analyzed the Toyota driver at the midday stop point. The second special stage of the morning (SS10) was a bit tricky, so we took a cautious approach.. » A caution justified by the appearance of rain at the end of this tenth timed sector, making the Canary Islands asphalt treacherous.

During SS11, the longest of the rallyOgier once again seemed poised to extend his lead thanks to his superior pace, but was caught out by a downpour on the final sections of the stage. This unfortunate timing allowed Oliver Solberg to snatch the fastest time by a mere tenth of a second. “I enjoyed the last stage more; I had a better pace, but unfortunately it rained at the end and I lost time. You can't control that in rallying; you have to deal with it.”, the general's leader slipped in. For now, things remain positive."

Although the timesheet didn't do him justice this morning, Sébastien Ogier said to himself, " pretty happy with the car Despite the pressure from the young Swede lying in wait, the rider from Gap refused to panic. For the afternoon loop, the tactics remained unchanged. Oliver Solberg is also pushing hard, so we have no reason to change anything. We'll have to keep trying. When it starts to rain, we're obviously a bit more careful, we're looking for grip. We can play with a few details, but on asphalt, it makes all the difference. »

With the gap holding steady at 5,3 seconds in favor of the Frenchman and the weather uncertain, the second loop promises an intense battle. Sébastien Ogier remains in control, but behind him, the pack has no intention of letting him escape to victory so easily.

Interview by Pierre Barré.

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