It’s been a long time coming. But it’s here. Too many months after Rally México we have meaningful action. We’ve watched the Toyotas test in Finland and the Hyundais race in Italy, but now, once again, we’re going to see world championship leader Sébastien Ogier take on world champion Ott Tänak.
Today’s redgrey Ralli Lõuna-Eesti will deliver 62 miles of competition. That’s more than Friday at Rally Sweden. It’s more than Saturday at Rally Sweden. In fact, it’s almost as much as the Friday and Saturday of round two.
So does it actually mean anything?
Does an Estonian warm-up event for Estonia’s first ever round of the World Rally Championship offer a genuine form guide for what’ll be coming on a very much delayed fourth round of the WRC season?
Yes. And no.
The one person we should rule out a little bit is Esapekka Lappi. For him, today’s about getting his head back in the zone. He’s driving a private car with some of the right bits on it. He’s not going to get the same chance to dial his Rally Estonia entry car in in the same way as his rivals from Hyundai and Toyota.
But what about those boys?
We’re not going to get the definitive word on who’s going to top the podium a fortnight later in Tartu, but we will certainly get a look into where the i20 Coupe WRC sits in terms of pace compared with the factory Yaris WRC.
Nobody doubts Tänak’s ability to win – how could you doubt the fast rally ability of a man who’s won back-to-back Rally Finlands? But what about a car that’s shown little in terms of pace to challenge Tommi Mäkinen’s all-conquering Yaris?
Don’t be fooled. The good folk of Alzenau have been busier than ever tweaking the i20’s aero-assisted high-speed turn-in, while simultaneously improving power and grip. And the word on the street is that Hyundai’s developed itself a Toyota-troubler.
For me, today’s fast roads around Võru are all about where that balance of power really sits right now.
The drivers will all do their own thing. A win comes with no points and prizes of limited appeal, but what it does offer is bragging rights and the biggest of psychological boosts when it comes to the next WRC round. A win in South Estonia means you start the Rally Estonia recce as cock of the walk.
Does that matter for Tänak? Not so much. He starts round four surfing the crest of a home rally wave. Beating the world champ in his homeland would mean more to the best of the rest, especially his team-mate Thierry Neuville, who could really do with some sixth-gear form to remind everybody that he finished second on his second ever start in Finland.
The same can be said for Ogier. He’s won Finland, but hasn’t finished higher than fifth in the last four years.
Ogier’s team-mates Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä would both benefit from a solid result. Evans is back in Estonia for the first time since he damaged his back on a dodgy landing last year and the 19-year-old Finn? Genuinely, who knows? He could win. Yes, he feels he’s missing experience of downforce driving in top gear, but being a fearless teenager’s definitely going to make up for some of that.
After two of the eight stages, Rovanperä is proving his mettle but it’s Tänak that leads, 5.9 seconds ahead with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans in third, three seconds behind his team-mate.
Ogier is fourth, less than a second shy of Evans with Neuville a further 4.4s adrift, 13.9s adrift of the leader.
