RallyRACC, day 2: Total domination by Sébastien Ogier and Toyota
22/10/2022
At the end of the second day of the 57th RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2022, French team Sébastien Ogier - Benjamin Veillas (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid) dominate the rankings with only tomorrow, Sunday, and its remaining 56.10 km as a final chance to rearrange the board.
Today consisted of 8 timed stages and a total of 119 km of speed. Thierry Neuville - Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid) managed to recover yesterday's level of competitiveness and got the scratch in Savallà1, but their rivals Sébastien Ogier - Benjamin Veillas (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid) kept at it in el Querol - Les Pobles-1, with Kalle Rovanperä - Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid) and ended taking bronze.
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.
When activity resumed, Ogier-Veillas did the same with their streak: winning the first two special stages, further distancing themselves from their rivals. In El Montmell2, Dani Sordo - Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid) enthused their fans by achieving the scratch ahead of Neuville-Wydaeghe and Ogier-Veillas, allowing them to increase their lead over an Elfyn Evans - Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid) who had been eager to occupy the Spaniards' fifth place.
In the last stage, in Salou, Hyundai i20's Neuville-Wydaeghe and Tänak-Järveoja tied with the same time in first place. With this, the Belgian managed to overcome Rovanperä-Halttunen (Toyota), taking second place in the rally.
In WRC2, Teemu Suninen – Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) continue in the lead followed by Yohan Rossel – Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) and Nikolay Gryazin – Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo).
In the European Championship's ranking, which ended today with a re-run through El Montmell, victory went to Yoann Bonato - Benjamin Boulloud (Citroën C3 Rally2) ahead of three Spanish teams: Efrén Llarena - Sara Fernández, Javier Pardo - Adrián Perez and Xevi Pons - Alex Haro, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo's three teams. Llarena and Fernández were proclaimed European champions in the last race.
In the 57th RallyRACC's single-brand championships, which ended last night, 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, with Jose Alvarez proclaimed champion; Oscar Palomo - Angel L. Vela (Peugeot 208 Rally4) won the Peugeot Rally Cup Iberian where the champions were Diego Ruiloba - Andrés Blanco; and Joan Torres - Xavier Carulla (Peugeot 208 1.2 Pure Tech) won the Volant RACC - Trofeu Mavisa.
Tomorrow, Sunday, the third and last day, will decide the ranking's final form with 2 double-run stages totalling 56.10 timed km. It will be a short day that usually hides a larger difficulty than expected, especially when a prominent position is at stake. The twice-run stages are Pratdip (12.15 km) and Riudecanyes (15.90 km), the latter's last run will be the Wolf Power Stage which will award points to the top 5. The first participant will leave PortAventura World park at 06.00h, will return at 09.14h for a 30' service, and will reach the park again after the stage at 13.28h for a final and brief 10' service. Once this time is over, the teams will then go to the podium in Salou, where the official arrival ceremony will be held from 13:48h.
Provisional classification of the 57 RallyRACC (after day 2)
1. Sébastien Ogier (F)/Benjamin Veillas (F) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, 2h.10'18"5
2. Thierry Neuville (B)/Martijn Wydaeghe (B) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, +20"7
3. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)/Jonne Halttunen (FIN) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, +22"1
4. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST) Hyundai i20 N Rally Hybrid, +36"6
5. Dani Sordo (E)/Cándido Carrera (E) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, +1'13"2
6. Elfyn Evans (GB)/Scott Martin (GB) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, +1'27"6
7. Craig Breen (IRL)/Paul Nagle (IRL) Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, +1'39"7
8. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, +1'58"6
9. Adrien Fourmaux (F)/Alexandre Coria (F) Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, +2'13"7
10. Pierre-Louis Loubet (F)/Vicent Landais (F) Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, +2'59"2
