Esapekka Lappi has taken third from Ott Tänak on the sixth stage of the day, snatching it away with a stage win to now hold a 2.2 second advantage over the M-Sport driver.
Lappi has continued to grow in confidence as the day has continued, and with Tänak losing time on the afternoon’s second stage after gambling on a wet tire, the Hyundai driver jumped at the chance to move up a place and into the top-three.
And with some drivers making different calls for tire choice, Lappi was pleased with what he went for come the stage end.
“I am sure we had the best [tire] choice,” he surmized.
“Well, not the best choice, but better than the wet tires. We believed in what our team said and it was the right call.”
The rain posed its first real test of the day as it began to fall in sections on the second pass of Stojdraga – Hartje.
This was the longest route of the day at 15.95 miles, constant weather changes were likely throughout the stage.
It wasn’t a hugely significant amount of rain, but just enough to dampen the surface and no doubt keep the drivers on their toes.
Elfyn Evans continued to make in-roads on Thierry Neuville in his chase for the Croatia Rally lead and is now just 8s from the front with a strong drive on SS6.
“I guess it may be drying out a bit, but I think the mud is then doing more damage than what is drying I guess,” he said.
“It’s hard to judge.”
Sébastien Ogier will be wondering what could have been today had it not been for his SS2 puncture. He couldn’t take another stage win but continued to look impressive on the Croatian roads.
The Rally México winner jumped two positions to fifth, benefitting from a tough stage for Pierre-Louis Loubet and Takamoto Katsuta who both gambled on the wet tires which didn’t pay off.
“It was definitely a bit more tricky at the end, but so far so good with the tires,” Ogier explained. “I have mixed tires, soft and hard.”
Kalle Rovanperä continues to remain at the end of the Rally1 field following his puncture in the morning, and with no one around him to battle it’s been a lonely day so far for the reigning champion.
“It was pretty okay. The last section was tricky,” he said. “When the road and cuts are wet, the mud is coming on the road.”
He is now 1m25.0s off Ogier and a further 2m40.4s off the lead.
