Sami Pajari has held off a fightback from Thierry Neuville to lead Croatia Rally after the opening day, taking advantage of his Toyota team-mates’ early retirements.
With both Oliver Solberg and Elfyn Evans crashing out on the morning loop it was left to Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta to hold down the fort for Toyota, fighting off Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai in the lead battle.
Katsuta had initially taken second place away from Neuville but the 2024 world champion quickly struck back on stages six and seven with fastest times.
Pajari’s lead gap had been cut to 6.3s heading into Friday’s final test but Neuville simply couldn’t muster the same pace on Učka that he’d achieved on the prior two stages, dropping 7.6s.
Pajari pulled off a spectacular backwards entry to a hairpin on stage five, such was his ease of feeling behind the wheel
That final stage effort ballooned Pajari’s lead to 13.7s, with Katsuta now lurking a mere 0.9s behind Neuville in third place overall.
“The competition is so tough that you need to push,” said Pajari. “The morning was not so straightforward but the afternoon was really cool. It’s only one day done but it’s really good, it’s been a pleasure to drive today.”
Neuville continued to struggle on the bookending stages of Croatia’s Friday loop, Vodice – Brest and Učka – but car behaviour aside, had been a big fan of Croatia’s new stages.
“Similar as first pass in this stage,” said Neuville at the finish of Učka. “Just no balance in that kind of long corners: full throttle, full understeer.
“I think it was the day we were looking for in a long time,. We’ve been smiling all day and also enjoying a bit more, so that’s positive. Still some work left – a small step for the world but a big step for us.”
Hyundai has all three of its cars in the top five overall
Hayden Paddon secured fourth place at the end of the opening day, aided by Jon Armstrong’s earlier retirement whom he’d been battling earlier in the day.
Adrien Fourmaux was promoted to fifth place due to a puncture for Josh McErlean in the sole remaining Ford Puma. McErlean hit a rock inside a corner cut on Beram – Cerovlje and immediately stopped to change the affected wheel, dropping two minutes. He then had to pull over to allow Paddon behind after being given a blue light.
“It’s been quite tricky,” said McErlean. “I think we’ve knocked something out with the impact with the puncture. It’s a shame because it was quite a consistent day.
“This afternoon hasn’t been so good in terms of pace but let’s see what tomorrow brings. We’re still here and a top six is within sight, so let’s keep trying.”
Lancia’s second WRC outing is going much better than its first, rebounding from its no-podium debut in Monte Carlo with a 1-2 after the opening day’s action in Croatia.
Yohan Rossel holds a 22.1s lead over Nikolay Gryazin, with Alejandro Cachón’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 42s off the lead in third place.
Yohan Rossel showed on the final day of the Monte Carlo Rally that Lancia's new Ypsilon Rally2 was quick – but his day one performance in Croatia added more evidence
Several drivers fighting at the sharp end ran into trouble with punctures which set back their quest for silverware.
Roberto Daprà, who has finished on the podium at his previous two WRC2 outings, was one of the first frontrunners to suffer a deflation, stopping to change a wheel on SS3.
Only M-Sport’s Romet Jürgenson had been able to match the pace of the Lancias on Friday, outpacing the entire field by 4.4s on the first pass of Lake Butoniga – Motovun.
A puncture on stage five significantly impacted his hopes of a first WRC2 podium, losing over a minute to the leaders. Almost as if to make a point, Jürgenson then won the second pass of Lake Butoniga – Motovun, even outpacing senior team-mate McErlean in the Puma Rally1.
Andreas Mikkelsen’s title ambitions took another enormous dent with a puncture on each pass of the Beram – Cerovlje test, costing him a combined 2m22s.
Monte Carlo winner and joint championship leader Léo Rossel is fourth, 7.2s behind Cachon and the final WRC2 podium place. Roope Korhonen completes the top five, 11.9s in arrears to the younger Rossel brother.
