Friday in Saudi Arabia was the toughest day of the season. The overnight leaders Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria ended the day with a slim 2.4 second lead over Martins Sesks and Renars Francis with Thierry Neuville climbing into the final podium position.
On the road, Fourmaux had ended SS14 with a narrow 2.4sec cushion over Sesks and just 5.8sec in hand over Thierry Neuville after a leg in which the lead changed hands several times. But the Hyundai driver and co-driver Alex Coria checked in one minute early to TC14A, the technical zone prior to overnight service, incurring a 60sec time penalty.
The adjustment promotes Sesks into top spot ahead of Neuville and Takamoto Katsuta, with Fourmaux now 57.6sec off the front in fourth.
“It’s been crazy,” Fourmaux said before news a penalty that was dished out for an overnight time infringement. “Every time we lose the lead, it comes back again. There are rocks everywhere. We’re just managing the risk and carrying on.”
In the fight for the championship, as it stands at the end of Friday’s action, Sebastien Ogier was one point ahead of Elfyn Evans, who at one point during the day, three points behind Ogier, a swing of six as fortunes ebbed and flowed.
It was a day beset by punctures as the rough stages took their toll. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were the first crew to stop and change a tyre, dropping to tenth overall. Some drivers, like Sebastien Ogier, had tyre warning alerts close to the end of a stage and continued with minimal time loss.
Heading into the midday service break, the four-way fight at the front of the field was covered by 9.2 seconds with Fourmaux holding off a resurgent Sesks by 2.9 seconds with Pajari a further 1.6 seconds back and Tanak homing in on young Toyota driver having taken back-to-back scratch times in stages ten and eleven.
After the midday service, the repeated stages were rougher than ever. Tanak won stage 12 to tie Pajari for third in the overall standings while Fourmaux’s overall lead was cut to 1.9 seconds.
Stage 13 was tough: Josh McErlean stopped to change a tyre, as did Tanak and Pajari (who dropped five positions to eighth), while out in front, Sesks blitzed the stage by eight seconds to re-take the rally lead after Fourmaux had a big overshoot which cost the Hyundai driver 24 seconds.
The final stage of the day saw Munster, Ogier, Sesks, and Fourmaux all suffer punctures, with Tanak having a nightmare double puncture. Sesks kept going, and although his Puma’s bodywork was very second hand, he kept his second position.
Behind Neuville in third, Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston held fourth followed by Kalle Rovanperä who won the day’s final stage. Ogier was sixth overall, followed by Pajari and Evans with Grégoire Munster and Oliver Solberg rounding out the top ten.
Saturday could well see a first-time WRC winner with either Fourmaux or Sesks claiming the honours, while Evans must throw caution to the wind and chase the maximum Super Saturday and Wolf Power stage points if he is to bank his maiden title. Ogier said in his end of day interview he would be careful, as a flat-out race means you don’t finish the rally.
The penultimate stage is the longest of the event at 32.88km and the outcome of the rally nor the championship is certain…
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