MARMARIS (Turkey): French seven-time world champion Sebastien Ogier has a wafer thin 0.2sec lead over Finn Esapekka Lappi with just four specials remaining of the Rally of Turkey. The pair have a comfortable margin of 1min 17sec over third-placed Andreas Mikkelsen of Hyundai.
Thierry Neuville of Hyundai had been going well in third place but went off the road early in the day. A technical problem had forced world rally championship leader Ott Tanak of Toyota to withdraw ahead of Saturday’s leg, but his 33-point lead assures he will remain ahead in the points race for the title. Tanak tweeted the news of his forced withdrawal himself but Toyota are determined to get him back in contention Sunday.
“Ott is stopped for today due to technical reasons. We will plan for the car to return under restart rules tomorrow,” Toyota said. The rocky and twisty gravel tracks combined with 30 degrees Celsius temperatures in Turkey are taking a ruinous toll on the tyres with most drivers slowing their pace to get through the tougher specials. Tanak had already been trailing in eight overnight after suffering a puncture on Friday. The in-form Tanak had reeled off wins in four of the last five rallies and with three races remaining, the 31-year-old is in the drivers’ seat to become the first Estonian world rally champion. – AFP
