Thierry Neuville keeps his cool to lead Croatia Rally, Toyotas threatening

Ranking Rally from Croatia Step 2:

• We believed in a turnaround in the situation facilitated by the arrival of rain in Croatia this Saturday. But apart from a few drops, the tarmac remained dry.
• Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) scared himself by momentarily losing first position thanks to a poor choice of tires (hard) against the Toyota by Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) who opted for soft rubbers. The Belgian then recovered greatly to finish the stage like the day before, in the lead.
• However, the gaps remain slim before the Sunday finale. Elfyn Evans is only 4 seconds behind. Sébastien Ogier moves in ambush at 11 seconds.
• “We didn't make a good tire choice but we had a great day, declared Thierry Neuville. We have to continue to attack, keep this feeling and make the right choice of tires. The weather wasn't easy to judge today, but we'll see tomorrow. »
• Aware that he cannot hope for much due to his Friday departure order, Adrien fourmaux (M-Sport Ford) is aiming to run in the top 5, and to score important points in the Drivers' championship. The Northerner is doing it perfectly for the moment, just behind Ott Tänak (Hyundai).
• In WRC2, Frenchman Yohan Rossel (Citroën) is in 2nd place behind his teammate Nikolay Gryazin (Citroën). Yohan Rossel was slowed down by a double puncture which cost him half a minute as well as a 10 second penalty
• In Junior WRC, the advantage still goes to the Estonian Romet Jürgenson, with almost 2 minutes ahead of the Australian Taylor Gill. Same pattern in WRC3, with the additional presence of the young Frenchman Mattéo Chatillon (Renault Clio) in 3rd place (+2'30").
• The third and final stage of the 2024 Croatia Rally will begin on Sunday morning at 7:08 a.m. and can be followed in live text on AUTOhebdo.fr

ALSO READ > The 2024 Croatia Rally program