Sébastien Ogier overcame appalling conditions to lead RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de España at the midpoint of Friday’s first full day despite failing to win any of the three rain-soaked gravel speed tests.
The Frenchman, bidding to secure a fourth consecutive world title in his Volkswagen Polo R, headed Thierry Neuville by 4.4sec. Jari-Matti Latvala recovered well from a lacklustre start last night to complete the top three, a further 1.3sec behind.
Torrential rain continued to hinder the drivers in the hills west of Salou. Mud and standing water made aquaplaning a constant threat but Ogier’s consistency put him top of the standings after Neuville briefly led.
He was second in both the short Bot and the Terra Alta tests. “So far it has been a really difficult rally,” he said. “There’s a lot of standing water and in these conditions I can’t really make a difference.”
Neuville’s reign at the top was a brief one. He led after SS2, only to be demoted on the next test, but he was happy despite the rear of his Hyundai i20 kicking him out of the ruts.
Latvala dropped 12sec in last night’s Barcelona curtain-raiser. However, the Finn was revitalised and went quickest in both Bot and Terra Alta to charge up to third.
Home hero Dani Sordo was fourth in an i20, the Spaniard describing the conditions as ‘unbelievable’. Third in Terra Alta promoted him 3.3sec ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen’s Polo R, the Norwegian cautious through the final 10km after believing he had a puncture.
Hayden Paddon completed the top six but still struggled with engine problems. “Especially on the uphill asphalt section we’ve got no throttle response. I put my foot down to go and there’s nobody at home. I’m surprised not to have lost more time,” he said.
Mads Østberg was seventh and happier that the vibration which bothered him earlier had disappeared. Craig Breen held eighth, despite a 10sec penalty for arriving late at SS4 after a ‘sluggish’ tyre change, with Kris Meeke and Ott Tänak completing the leaderboard.