Martins Cescs is the new leader of the Rally of Saudi Arabia, the 14th and final round of this year’s WRC, after Hyundai’s overall leader Adrien Fourmeaux was given a one-minute penalty for entering a time control early.
At the same time, Sébastien Ogier has taken the upper hand in the WRC title battle heading into the final day, as he is in 6th place, but has gained a 1’40” lead over Elphin Evans after a puncture forced the Welshman to change a wheel in SS11.
Fourmeaux had completed today’s chaotic – with countless punctures – leg with a 2.4-second lead over Cescs, but the Frenchman’s early arrival at the time control cost him dearly. The stewards imposed a one-minute penalty on him, dropping him to fourth place, 57.6 seconds behind.
Thus, Latvian Sesks is now at the top with a difference of 3.4 seconds from Thierry Neuville of Hyundai. The two of them will also claim the victory in tomorrow’s (29/11) final stage, as the third Takamoto Katsuta of Toyota is 41.5 seconds behind. This is another reversal in one of the most dramatic days of the year, as Fourmeux was among the six who faced tire problems in the final.
Rally Saudi Arabia Day 2 Highlights
Fourmo had started Friday (28/11) at the top of a four-way battle for victory with Sesks, Sami Pajari and Ott Tanak. On this morning’s stage he suffered a broken rear swingarm and saw his lead reduced to 2.9 seconds.
Sesks then continued his counterattack, cutting another second off Fourmo on SS12, before the battle for the lead took a wild turn on SS13, Um Al Jerem 2. There, Tanak and Pajari closed within 6.3 seconds of the leader, but both suffered early punctures, were forced to change wheels and were out of contention for victory.
Pajari returned ahead of Fourmeux, but the dust from the Toyota disoriented him, causing the Frenchman to miss a junction and the lead with it – while Cesc was shooting himself into a 22.1-second lead.
But the drama continued in SS14. Cesc suffered a left rear puncture early on but continued, losing 54.1 seconds. Fourmey looked set to close the gap, but a puncture on his front left wheel also cost him dearly. He chose not to stop, ultimately losing 29.6 seconds, but enough to temporarily return to the top – before the early finish penalty shuffled the standings again.
Kale Rovanpera was one of the lucky ones on the final stage, as he avoided tyre damage, took the SS and climbed up to fifth, almost 20” behind Fourmey. Ogier, despite also having a puncture, arrived at Service in sixth, just 0.2s behind Rovanpera and ahead of Pagliari and Elfyn Evans.
The Welshman had his own drama on SS11, when he was forced to stop and change a wheel, losing 1′38”. He temporarily dropped to 10th, but climbed back up to 8th as punctures also hit his rivals. As things stand, Evans enters the final day one point behind Ogier, with another 10 points to be shared on Saturday over the final three SS.
The top ten was completed by Gregoire Munster and Rally2 leader Oliver Solberg. Tänak ended a nightmarish day in 16th place, with four crashes in total and a 2:30 penalty for being late at the final time control.
