Ott Tanak claimed an early Central European Rally lead after winning the opening stage of the World Rally Championship’s all-new three-country event.
The M-Sport Ford driver set the pace around the 2.55km Velka Chuchle spectator stage that navigated around a racecourse in Prague, as the Czech Republic made its WRC debut. One of a few crews to opt for four soft tyres, Tanak took the spoils with a perfect run in front of a huge crowd. Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier, making a seventh WRC start of the season at the penultimate round of the year, was 0.7 seconds slower than Tanak, having opted to run on wet tyres.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta was sixth-fastest ahead of Toksport Skoda’s Andreas Mikkelsen, who could seal the WRC2 title this weekend. WRC title rival team-mates Elfyn Evans and reigning champion Kalle Rovanpera set times good enough for eighth and ninth respectively. Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Evans edged Rovanpera by 0.1s to take first blood in their private battle.
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