Elfyn Evans completed a clean sweep of Friday morning’s Rally Estonia stages, winning all four to hold a commanding position out front.
The final stage of the loop, Vastsemõisa, was by far the shortest at just 4.16 miles but there was no change to the competitive order as Toyota’s Evans once again went fastest.
Outpacing team-mate Kalle Rovanperä by 1.8 seconds, Evans now leads second-placed Ott Tänak by a strong 12.5s after the first five of Rally Estonia’s 24 stages.
“The car’s working, I have confidence behind the wheel so that’s good,” said Evans.
“I just need to keep it up this afternoon, it could look a lot different so nothing can be taken for granted.”
Tänak, who won his home event two years ago, has been Evans’ closest challenger across Friday morning although last year’s Estonia winner Rovanperä nibbled a little back on the final two stages of the loop – a legacy of some small car troubles for Tänak.
“It’s more like fighting, not driving fast,” he said, before comedically adding: “I’m looking to have a good lunch and then we go again.”
“It’s been good,” Rovanperä countered. “Nothing special really.
“I think we did what we could being the first car on the road, it was pretty slippy.”
Rovanperä trails Tänak by 6.2s heading into the afternoon.
Thierry Neuville is up to fourth following Craig Breen’s exit on the previous test but is cut well adrift of the podium battle – over 20s behind third-placed Rovanperä.
It’s been a tricky morning for the Hyundai driver who hasn’t felt comfortable with the rear of his i20 N Rally1 – an overshoot on a junction typifying his experience.
Behind, Esapekka Lappi was glad to be clear of the morning loop as the trip back to service in Tartu will allow the Toyota mechanics to examine his brake pad problems. Lappi’s fifth, just 2.6s adrift of Neuville.
“We just need to get the driving back on the right way, and then we just do good pace throughout the weekend after that,” said a disconsolate Lappi.
Takamoto Katsuta hasn’t managed to make it four GR Yaris Rally1s in the top six at midday service, after he was edged by M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux on SS5.
Katsuta, who was very cautious on the opening two stages of the rally that were brand-new to him, limited his losses to Fourmaux to 0.4s on Vastsemõisa to lie 1.8s behind.
“It was a clean stage for us, I’m happy with the time and my driving,” said Fourmaux, who appears to have rediscovered his mojo in Estonia.
Oliver Solberg was another to look forward to a “good lunch”, completing the morning a frustrated 10th overall, 1m35.8s away from rally leader Evans already. His closest challenger, Pierre-Louis Loubet, is also 24.6s up the road.
“We just have to work and I have to work, the pace is not great. I honestly don’t know [why], I’m trying everything I can, I just have no grip at all,” he said.
“Not as easy as I was hoping.”
Loubet is ninth, 1.8s shy of his M-Sport team-mate Gus Greensmith.
