The Ypres Rally has experienced two realities on its first day, both at a sporting and meteorological level. The morning loop has been dominated by Elfyn Evans with cloudy skies but dry ground. The afternoon was for Thierry Neuville and Hyundai, with wet asphalt, but without the torrential rain that many expected. In this rapidly changing scenario, the local hero has stepped forward and seems to have found his way with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. for now, Thierry Neuville sleeps leader, although with Ott Tänak very close.
The evening loop started with a very uneven tire mount. The reports of the team meteorologists spoke of heavy rains, which invited to take risks and bet on the wet compound among the drivers most in need of making up ground. This strategy did not go well and the mixed mounts were the most effective on roads with water, but far from being soaked. A scenario in which the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 seemed to be like a fish in water.
In fact, Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville traced the time on SS5, confirming not only that these shoes fit the Hyundai well, but that the adjustments in the ‘set up’ of the car were very successful. Elfyn Evans lost 1.2sec to both on the second run through ‘Vleteren’, although it was minor damage compared to the 3.3sec he lost to Thierry Neuville in SS6. With everything, the most severe blow for Elfyn Evans came a stage later after receiving a 10-second penalty for arriving a minute late at the start of the special.
Although the penalty placed Thierry Neuville as the new leader, the truth is that Elfyn Evans has not had the pace of his rivals either, among other things because he has also suffered a slow puncture. At the end of the stage, after another scratch by the local hero on SS9, Thierry Neuville is 2.5 seconds ahead of Ott Tänak and 13.7 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans. Esapekka Lappi is fourth and Craig Breen fifth, although both lost a lot of time after betting on the wrong mount.
Takamoto Katsuta opted for the same strategy, so the Japanese did not get profit from an afternoon loop without changes in the ‘group’ made up of Gus Greensmith, Oliver Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux. Already in ninth position, Stéphane Lefebvre continues to lead the WRC2 category and he does it with a lead of 15.5 seconds over Andreas Mikkelsen. The Frenchman Yohan Rossel occupies the third position, although he has lost some steam compared to the first two classified. In Spanish key, Alejandro Cachón has suffered an accident in the SS6.
Qualifying after ss8 of the 57th Ypres Rally Belgium
The Ypres Rally continues this Saturday (10:13 a.m.) with the dispute of the second stage of the test. Pilots and co-pilots will dispute 133.22 kilometers against the clock in this competitive start.
Photos: hyundai motorsport