Croatia/WP 18: Drama, Ogier leads / WRC

Up to the 18th day out of 20 fake pitch tests, everything went more or less smoothly without any special incidents. But on the third to last decision, which ends in the second round as SS 20 as a final power move, the leader fell.

Championship leader Thierry Neuville, as the leader in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, until then had been battling hard for the lead with WRC runner-up Elfin Evans in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. However, on SS 18, Monte Carlo winner Neuville briefly jumped off the tarmac by more than 20 seconds and slipped to third overall. Neuville described his false route as follows: “There were many currents there, but when I heard the description of the route, it was too late.”

In keeping with the slogan “shared suffering is halved”, his follower Evans also made a mistake there and spun with a loss of almost 20 seconds. However, he remained in second place. Vice champion Evans explained: “There was a lot of oil there. I hit something with my tail and spun.”

And so eight-time champion and part-time Toyota driver Sébastien Ogier became a comical third, inheriting the lead on his second outing of the season. After the third-to-last decision, Ogier, the winner of Croatia 2021, was 9.1 seconds ahead of teammate Evans and 10.2 seconds ahead of Neuville. Ogier put his protective hand over the unlucky ones: “It was very easy to make a mistake in this experiment.”

52.1 seconds behind Neuville’s new third, teammate Ott Tänak, second behind Croatia’s Evans in a Ford Puma in 2023, remained in fourth place.

So far, WRC third-place finisher Adrien Foumaux has been praised for his consistent performance this season, with two third-place finishes in Sweden and Kenya. It would have remained so in Croatia if he had not thrown his Ford Puma Rally1 from M-Sport in SS18 and damaged the steering wheel, losing 15 minutes. He fell from fifth to 18th (+ 18:27.4), ahead of German Armin Kremer, who he leads the title of master (over 50 years) in a Skoda Fabia RS with his daughter Ella.

Rally Croatia on Red Bull TV:

The 2024 FIA World Rally Championship is coming to Croatia, offering a fast-paced display of motorsport skills, with the twists and turns of the road challenging enthusiastic participants – especially in wet conditions. Red Bull TV will be live at 10:00 pm CET on Friday, April 19, Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21, for the fourth round of the season, the first asphalt meeting of 2024.

Rally Croatia on Servus TV:

13:00 Uhr MEZ: WP 20 “Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2” (Power stage/14.24 km)