Lappi fastest as tyre tactics shape Chile shakedown

‘Tyre management’ was the phrase on the lips of most drivers as they completed the 6.79km Conuco warm-up test. Each crew has an allocation of 28 soft and eight hard compound Pirelli tyres for the three-day event, with shakedown selections included in this tally. As a result, many frontrunners opted for a conservative approach, instead saving rubber for the challenging days ahead.

Tyre degradation proved to be a major talking point in last year’s edition, with Toyota suffering costly blowouts across three of its cars. This time around, the big focus is on Saturday’s leg - the longest of the weekend - where nearly 140 competitive kilometres are expected to test tyre endurance to the limit.

Esapekka Lappi showed little hesitation, clocking the fastest shakedown time on his second and final run. The Finn, who crashed his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID on the opening stage here last year, outpaced Mārtiņš Sesks’ Ford Puma Rally1 by 2.2sec, while fellow rookie Sami Pajari rounded out the top three just three-tenths behind in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID.

Kalle Rovanperä secured fourth ahead of Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans, with championship leader Thierry Neuville ending seventh in his Hyundai.

“I am looking forward to this rally,” admitted Neuville. “Friday’s stages look amazing. It won’t be easy, and the grip changes are massive, but we know what we have to do.”

Grégoire Munster brought his Puma home in eighth, followed by WRC2 pace-setter Nikolay Gryazin and eight-time WRC champion Sébastien Ogier. Ogier’s steady opening run hinted at potential trouble with his Toyota, but the Frenchman quickly dismissed concerns. “All good,” he assured. “Nothing special.”

Following this evening’s ceremonial start, the real action kicks off on Friday, with crews tackling six stages totalling 112.76km during the first full day of competition.