Hello motorsport fans! After the asphalt roads of Germany, the World Rally Championship goes to the dusty, rocky roads of Turkey. Apparently drivers have become unaccustomed to harsh conditions, because this weekend was incredibly many gatherings.
On the first stages of the rally of Turkey on Friday there was a tense struggle between the current leader of the championship Thierry Neuville and the current champion Sebastian Ogier. The Belgian was not a very successful starting position, but in the end all day he stayed in the top six. Sebastian Ogier, like many other riders, was prevented by the dust raised by previous starts, but he still managed to break from the seventh position to the second. Andreas Mikkelsen lost precious seconds due to tire wear and kept behind the Frenchman for 2.3 seconds. Problems with traction were in the drivers of Toyota Yaris, Jari-Matti Latvala and Ott Tanak struggled with all the difficulties of the route and eventually closed the top five in the first day. Craig Breen did well two stages but the broken tire did not allow him to be in the top five. Elfyn Evans and Mads Ostberg left the track with a broken suspension.
The Saturday morning was difficult for Thierry Neuville. Having completed the previous day with a separation of 0.3 seconds from Sebastian Ogier, the Belgian completed the 34-kilometer stage with a broken front suspension that broke through the hood. Neuville and his navigator swapped the front and rear suspensions, but the damage was too great and eventually they had to get off. Seb Ogier tried to use this, but a similar failure of the front suspension did not allow him to go on for a long time to become a leader. However, the breakdown was less serious, and the Frenchman continued ride. As a result, Andreas Mikkelsen regained the lead in the rally of Turkey, and Ott Tanak, who in the previous stage experienced problems with the steering column, broke out into the second place. Esapekka Lappi, who did not manage the balancing on the steep embankment, later joined the list of descended from the road. The driver and the navigator managed to get out of the car, which later rolled down the hill a minute later. By the end of the second day the leader was again replaced, problems with the gearbox arose in Andreas Mikkelsen and he began to lose quick seconds.
Ott Tanak became the leader of the rally, while the Estonians also had problems with the car. Trying to reduce the backlog of leaders Sebastian Ogier made a mistake and crashed into a tree on a steep turn. Although the car did not take off too much, Sebastian Ogier could not return to the track. Irish racer Craig Breen was not so lucky, he had to stop twice because his Citroën was covered with smoke. He lost six minutes, and at the next stage, his car exploded and burned despite the help of Ott Tanak, who was passing by, trying to help put out the burning car. Fortunately, neither Craig Breen nor his navigator Scott Martin suffered. After a series of tragic gatherings, the second place was taken by Jari-Matti Latvala, who experienced problems with hydraulics. Also, the unscathed Hayden Paddon came in third.
The Sunday afternoon ended for Ott Tanak with his third consecutive victory. The Estonian driver was the first after Sebastian Ogier scored three wins in a row. The French racer in 2016 on the way to the title won four consecutive wins. For Jari-Matti Latvala, the second place in the rally of Turkey is still the best result in the current season. For Hayden Paddon, this is the first podium in the season. Fourth to the finish came Teemu Suninen, who more than four minutes behind the leaders. Recovered from a broken front suspension Andreas Mikkelsen still managed to get to the finish even in the top five.
The next stage of the WRC will be held October 4-7 in Wales.
Photos taken from the official WRC site www.wrc.com
