WRC
Solberg closes on Ogier as rain spices up Canarias fight
Sébastien Ogier’s Rally Islas Canarias lead was trimmed to just 5.3sec on Saturday morning as Oliver Solberg applied pressure during a mixed and increasingly slippery loop in Gran Canaria.
Ogier began the day 8.9sec clear after dominating Friday’s opening leg, but Solberg reduced that margin across three very different asphalt tests as localised rain showers and damp patches complicated conditions through the latter part of the morning.
Elfyn Evans also enjoyed a stronger start to the day, winning the first two stages of the loop to consolidate third overall. The Welshman reached midday 18.2sec off the lead, while Sami Pajari and championship leader Takamoto Katsuta completed Toyota Gazoo Racing’s continued lockout of the top five.
Saturday began on Maspalomas, a fast and flowing 13.47km stage where Evans made full use of his previous experience to set the pace. Solberg was just 0.1sec slower, while Ogier dropped 1.7sec to his team-mate after admitting he had not been fully committed in the quickest sections.
Evans then struck again on the damp Arucas - Firgas - Teror stage, where changing grip levels made tyre choice and confidence critical. He was 2.5sec faster than Solberg and 4.4sec quicker than Ogier, reducing his own deficit to the front and bringing the top three closer together.
Solberg, however, responded on the loop-ending Moya - Gáldar test, the longest stage of the rally at 28.90km. The 24-year-old edged Ogier by just 0.1sec despite touching an armco barrier, while Evans dropped 8.0sec as conditions became more difficult.
“Surprisingly it was very dirty in a few places,” said Solberg. “I just went wide and touched the armco but it was nothing serious.”
Ogier was also cautious through the final kilometres as rain intensified.
“It was very slippery at the end so I was quite unlucky with that one,” he said. “Not as bad as Paraguay.”
Behind the leading trio, Pajari held fourth overall, 44.0sec from the lead, while Katsuta closed to within 5.8sec of the Finn after a stronger start to Saturday. The Japanese driver did, however, lose time on Moya - Gáldar after completing an extra loop at a roundabout.
“I don’t know, I just couldn’t see the exit of the roundabout,” Katsuta admitted. “It was stupid.”
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Adrien Fourmaux moved ahead of Hyundai team-mate Dani Sordo into sixth overall after a more competitive morning in the i20 N Rally1. Sordo slipped to seventh, while Thierry Neuville remained eighth after another difficult loop in which he continued to struggle for confidence.
“I am doing what I can,” said Neuville. “Things just don’t work.”
M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean held ninth overall, 20.0sec ahead of team-mate Jon Armstrong, who completed the loop 10th.
In WRC2, Yohan Rossel remained in control despite the tricky conditions. The Lancia driver reached midday 28.8sec ahead of Alejandro Cachón, with younger brother Léo Rossel just 4.0sec further back in third.
“It is tricky conditions to be honest,” said Yohan Rossel. “Very complicated to know the grip and know where you can push or not. We are here. It was a good loop for us.”
