RallyRACC, after SS11: Ogier and Toyota dominate the penultimate event of the season

22/10/2022

With the cancellation of the 11th Special Stage due to car #44's accident with no injuries, the second day of the 57th RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2022, is now halfway done. The vehicles are at the PortAventura World service park, where they have 40' to work on the mechanics.

Belgian team Thierry Neuville - Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid) managed to recover yesterday's drive and competitivity and got the scratch in Savallà1, but their rivals Sébastien Ogier - Benjamin Veillas (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid) replied in Querol - Les Pobles1, with Kalle Rovanperä - Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid) by remaining in third position.

Gus Greensmith - Jonas Andersson's accident on the lengthy El Montmell1 (24.18 km), the last stage before the midday stop, led to their Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 being stopped in the middle of the road: forcing the cancellation of the section. Therefore, nothing changed since the start of the day.

After yesterday's stage, three of the promotional championships, which have the 57th RallyRACC as their most important event of the year, ended their journey. Sergi Francolí - María Salvo (Toyota GR Yaris N4) won the Toyota Gazoo Racing Iberian Cup; Juan Carlos Fernández - Esther de la Torre (Suzuki Swift Sport 1.4 Booster Jet) did the same in the Suzuki Swift Cup; and Joan Torres - Xavier Carulla (Peugeot 208 1.2 Pure Tech) won the Volant RACC - Trofeu Mavisa.

The second loop through this morning's stages will take place at 14.14h (Savallà), 15.07h (Querol - Les Pobles) and 16.08h (El Montmell). Once this has been completed, the teams will have to face the last challenge of the day: the 2.15 km urban section of Salou, with the first participant starting at 18.40h. This first driver will enter the PortAventura World service park at 19.10h and will have, like all the teams, 45' to work on the cars. The participants in the European Championship (ERC) will finish their performance after El Montmell-2.

Provisional classification of 57th RallyRACC (after 11 special stages)
1. Sébastien Ogier (F)/Benjamin Veillas (F) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, 1h.37'01"0
2. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)/Jonne Halttunen (FIN) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, +9"7
3. Thierry Neuville (B)/Martijn Wydaeghe (B) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, +14"2
4. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST) Hyundai i20 N Rally Hybrid,  +27"2
5. Dani Sordo (E)/Cándido Carrera (E) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, +1'06"2
6. Elfyn Evans (GB)/Scott Martin (GB) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, +1'09"2
7. Craig Breen (IRL)/Paul Nagle (IRL) Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, +1'15"4
8. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid), +1'39"6
9. Adrien Fourmaux (F)/Alexandre Coria (F) Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, +1'46"1
10. Pierre-Louis Loubet (F)/Vincent Landais (F) Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, +2'20"9