Sebastien Ogier maintained his WRC Safari Rally lead over Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera in Saturday morning's leg of stages, despite suffering a puncture ⏱️ Full report here as the battle at the front begins to hot up 🔥
The eight-time world champion came through challenging damp and muddy conditions to preserve his lead, although Ogier's overnight advantage over championship leader Rovanpera was cut by 0.7s to 22.1s.
Overnight rain created muddy and slippery conditions, increasing the difficulty for the crews that earmarked Saturday’s stages as the toughest of the rally. There was further drama for Toyota as third-placed Evans stalled his GR Yaris following a rough entry to a water splash, an incident reminiscent to that the Toyota driver suffered in Sardinia.
If anything, the stage conditions were even more challenging in stage nine as Rovanpera claimed a second fastest time of the rally. He shaved 0.6s from Ogier, who emerged as Rovanpera’s nearest rival. "We could push a bit more, but for sure Seb is pushing a lot for this win," said Rovanpera."In our case we need to think about the championship also, because the guys in the championship are much more behind and the good points are coming."Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1"When you see the puddles and mud, you brake and then you see if you survive," he said.
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