2024-02-17 23:24:05
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HIGHLIGHTS
This last special was far from a formality and Adrien Fourmaux, author of a remarkable performance until then, came close to being punished. Trapped in the same place as his teammate Grégoire Munster, the Frenchman narrowly avoided crashing his Puma Rally1 into a wall of snow.
Before him, Elfyn Evans had struggled on worn tires and was ultimately unable to threaten the M-Sport driver.
Untouchable since Katsuta’s retirement this morning, Esapekka Lappi wins this first part of the rally, but his points will only be validated if he manages to reach the finish line tomorrow noon.
Fourth this evening, Thierry Neuville seems to have found his rhythm on this terrain and should play the leading roles for tomorrow’s points…just like Kalle Rovanperä, Takamoto Katsuta and Ott Tänak! The 61 kilometers on tomorrow’s program promise to be exciting!
Fifth overall, Oliver Solberg had a very good day today following impressing yesterday. Behind the Swede, the fight between Toyota was exciting and the Finn Sami Pajari came in second this evening but by only two tenths over Georg Linnamäe.
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PILOT REACTIONS
K. Rovanperä
5:50.7“It was OK. I think I had more tire wear than him (Tänak). The pace was still good but the tires made the biggest difference in this special.”G.MunsterSortieL.Bertelli
6:10.2“Munster was straight ahead at a junction on the left. It was very slippery, very very slippery, I didn’t expect that much. I wanted to be at the finish tonight, and I’m happy to be.”T. Neuville
5:48.8“It was a good stage for us, I really liked it. But it’s very difficult. Grégoire got stuck in a wall of snow, so we had to slow down. But that’s not important to us. I have a better feeling now but I don’t know if it will be enough for tomorrow.”E.Evans
6:01.0“I really had no grip. We tried to do what we might, it wasn’t easy.”A.Fourmaux
5:57.2“I saw the video before the stage and I thought it was the front corner. When I realized they were there (Munster and Louka), it was too late. Well, what a great day! Roller coaster, ups and downs. But I’m happy, really happy. We are here, P2.”E. Lapland
5:52.9“It was nice. OK, maybe it’s not the most enjoyable stage with all the junctions but there were some corners where I had fun.”G.Munster“I just locked the wheels. I shot straight. I hope I didn’t slow Esapekka down too much. I’m sorry for the team, that wasn’t the goal.”O.Solberg“I just wanted to be clean here, the lead is so big. So no risk.”G. Linnamäe“It was extremely slippery. I tried to be clean, but maybe I was too careful in some places.”M. HeikkiläSortie
“It’s not a question of tires. The suspension arm is bent and is now completely broken. I went wide and had to reverse. It’s not my day.”
NEXT SPECIAL : SS16- Västervik 1 (25.50 km) from 7:27 a.m. (Sunday February 18, 2024)
Classification SS15 / After SS15 (10.08 km)
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#SS15 #Lappi #winner #Sweden