Sébastien Ogier all but secured his fourth consecutive FIA World Rally Championship title after passing Sordo to lead RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de España on Saturday.
Andreas Mikkelsen, second in the series, crashed this afternoon to leave Ogier with one hand on the crown. Only Thierry Neuville can deprive him but the Belgian, third in the rally, must claim maximum points and Ogier fail to score for the Frenchman to be denied.
Ogier dented Sordo’s dream of becoming the first Spaniard to win his home rally for 21 years by ending the penultimate leg of the four-day mixed surface event with a 5.8sec lead in his Volkswagen Polo R. Neuville was a further 58.1sec behind in a Hyundai i20.
Saturday was hot and sunny, in contrast to yesterday’s torrential rain. The special stages were different too, the mud-caked gravel tracks replaced by fast, wide and smooth asphalt.
Initially Sordo defended his 17.0sec lead in his Hyundai i20, but Ogier trimmed it to 7.7sec by mid-leg service with two stage wins. Three more fastest times followed this afternoon to leave Ogier sitting pretty.
“Dani was strong and very hard to catch,” he said. “We managed to come back and had some good times but I knew it would be tough. Sunday will be exciting again and we’ll have to continue in the same way tomorrow.”
Sordo struggled with understeer and even reduced his pace to try to improve grip. “I’m very disappointed to lose the fight but what can I do?” he questioned.
Mikkelsen was distanced by the leading duo and slipping towards Neuville’s clutches when his Polo R drifted into a barrier in a fast right corner before rolling heavily. The Norwegian and co-driver Anders Jaeger were unhurt.
Neuville, like Sordo, was frustrated by his i20’s handling. He made set-up changes mid-leg but reverted to settings close to those used this morning when the understeer persisted.
Hayden Paddon made it three i20s in the top four. He was 16.1sec behind Neuville and suffering similar handling issues, but finished 37.9sec ahead of Kris Meeke. The Citroën DS 3 driver lost time with a puncture and survived a 360 degree fifth-gear spin which ripped off his car’s front bumper.
Mads Østberg completed the top six in a Ford Fiesta RS ahead of the similar car of Ott Tänak. Kevin Abbring, Martin Prokop and WRC 2 leader Jan Kopecký completed the leaderboard.
Eric Camilli retired when his Fiesta RS jammed in fifth gear while Craig Breen snapped his DS 3’s front driveshaft and drove all morning with rear-wheel drive.
Sunday’s finale comprises two identical loops of two stages west of Salou, covering 62.80km. The opener takes place in darkness while the closing Duesaigües test forms the live TV Power Stage, with bonus points to the fastest three drivers.