Central Europe: Nicolas Ciamin saves the French from a difficult Friday

After the short start on Thursday evening, the first stage ended today with 6 SS and a little over 131 km timed. Friday opened with an additional parameter: the presence of rain. The latter was expected, but it undoubtedly had an impact perhaps even greater than that which occurs from the first kilometers.

In the 13,66 km of SS3, Vlachovo Březí, Sébastien Ogier only traveled 3 kilometers before suffering a puncture. In addition to being in poor shape, the eight-time world champion lost more than 40” and all chances of doing well. He dragged his disappointment through the rest of the day, which ended at a modest 6^e place. At the lunch break, Seb wondered about the usefulness of continuing his rally. At the end of the day, his health was slightly better and he was not absolutely against the idea of ​​continuing the event.

SS3 was also cruel with Yohan Rossel. Then leader of WRC2, the PH-Sport driver made a mistake and hit a tree. “ I was simply driving a little too fast for the grip conditions. », recounted Yohan. In the accident, he injured his hand, but after being treated by a medical team, Rossel ended his rally and his year with a straightened thumb.

On the side ofAdrien fourmaux, it was a puncture that slowed him down in this opening time. “ I didn't want to go down that rope, he said, but I didn't really have a choice since that was the trajectory. I heard a “click” and thought “oh no”… but it was too late. » Penalized by this flat tire, the Frenchman fell 15^e of the Rally2 category. Aligning the good times, it is now 4^e with still great possibilities to win it.

For Pierre-Louis Loubet, the problems occurred in the final clock. Although he had until then managed to get through the stage without problem, he locked his wheels when braking, pulled straight and damaged the front of his Puma. Also victim of a puncture, he tried to change the wheel, but it was full of mud. The 5 minutes lost pushed him back to 20^e position.

While all his compatriots were experiencing problems, Nicolas Ciamin managed to get through the rain. Author of remarkable times in WRC2, the Niçois occupies 3 this evening^e place just 24”1 behind the leader. “ Going this far, we knew we were in for a tough Friday., said Nicolas. It was indeed very poor, but we still managed to have a good pace and almost avoid all the mistakes. We only spun. By having a better position tomorrow and after working on the car, we will try to maintain our podium »

Raced in Germany and Austria the 2^e stage will be long again with 109,50 km timed and 6 ES.