Estonian Ott Tanak drove a Hyundai on the difficult dirt tracks in a bouncey performance to beat the competition and take the lead for Sunday’s final day. The 2019 world champion, who is 34 years old, won six of seven stages on Saturday. The eighth and final special of the day, SS17, ended in confusion after the accident of Adrien Fourmaux (Frenchman), who had his car blocking the road for a few minutes before it was evacuated.
Tanak was not unlucky Friday with the cancellations of the final two stages due to a transmission problem. On Saturday, Tanak took advantage of the early exit of Esapekka, who was ahead by a few tenths, and took the rally’s lead. Dani Sordo (Spanish) and Craig Breen (Irish), who were looking for a third victory after 2020 and 2019.
Pierre-Louis Loubet, a Frenchman (4th), confirmed his excellent first day. The 2019 winner of the WRC2 lower category remained calm and took advantage of Sordo’s driving mistakes.