The first full day of this rally saw the crews take on seven stages over 122km’s. Elfyn and Scott would open the road and sweep the road clear of gravel again. Ott and Martin who are in third in the championship standings would be second on the road as Seb and Vincent are not competing this weekend.
There had already been one stage run on Thursday evening and the top three was Thierry, Elfyn and Ott. An impressive run from Robert and Jakko in a Fabia Rally2 took them to fifth fastest.
Onto the first full day then and first up was SS2 Peipsiääre 1 – 24.35 km and Elfyn’s stage time would see him set the sixth best time. It was a Toyota leading as well, but not the crew that would normally be expected to be at the front. Ott and Martin set the leading time which was then beaten by Oliver and Elliott! It was an incredible drive from them which saw them jump up six positions to the lead. Kalle was second fastest, whilst Thierry was third. The best placed of the M-Sport crews was Martins and Renaur who after setting the eighth best time climbed up eight positions to ninth overall.
Next up then was SS3 Mustvee 1 – 11.37 km and Ott was fastest from Oliver and Elfyn. The Estonian’s pace saw them move into second overall from fourth place. Oliver and Elliott continued to lead, the gap to Ott and Martin now 6.2 seconds. At M-Sport Josh moved ahead of Martins, the Irishman now in ninth place.
The crews then headed back to the first stage of the day for the second run through SS4 Peipsiääre 2 – 24.35 km and Oliver was again fastest from Kalle and Ott. Oliver remained in the lead the gap between him and Ott now 9.4 seconds, whilst Kalle was third.
The second run of SS5 Mustvee 2 – 11.37 km and Ott was fastest from Oliver by just nine tenths of a second and Kalle was third. The gap between the top two was now 8.5 seconds. Josh remained the top placed M-Sport driver, holding ninth just 4.8 seconds behind Sami and 1.8 seconds ahead of Martins.
After the first break the first of three stages, SS6 Kambja 1 – 23.74 km and completely new stages as well would see Adrien set the fastest time from Oliver and Thierry. The Frenchman passed Elfyn for sixth overall who was only eleventh fastest in the stage. It was a surprising result for the championship leader who’d only lost 20 seconds in the morning stages yet lost 15 in one stage. Opening the road was killing the ability to set good times. Thierry also was on the move passing Kalle for third overall. Oliver’s lead over Ott was now 11.9 seconds.
The second run of SS7 Kambja 2 – 23.74 km saw Oliver set the fastest time from Adrien and Thierry. Adrien was now up into fifth place as he passed Takamoto. Meanwhile Martins was now the fastest of the M-Sport crews, holding ninth overall.
Onto the final stage of the day, SS8 Elva Linn – 1.72 km and Thierry was fastest from Takamoto and Ott. Rally leader, Oliver was eleventh, but still had a 12.4 second lead over Ott. It had been an amazing day for the Swede and his British co-driver Elliott.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the driver’s.
Classification after Day One
| 1 | O. Solberg | E. Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 1:06:33.4 |
| 2 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +12.4 |
| 3 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +14.2 |
| 4 | K. Rovanperä | J. Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +20.1 |
| 5 | A. Fourmaux | A. Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +29.8 |
| 6 | T. Katsuta | A. Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +30.0 |
| 7 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +41.4 |
| 8 | S. Pajari | M. Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +01:05.1 |
| 9 | M. Sesks | R. Francis | Ford Puma Rally1 | +01:11.4 |
| 10 | J. McErlean | E. Treacy | Ford Puma Rally1 | +01:30.0 |
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Oliver Solberg
“Today has been the best day of my life. It was a dream come true just to be driving this car, but to be leading the rally and winning a few stages, it’s been a lot of fun. The car has been amazing to drive. We worked in our test last week to get a comfortable feeling and we’ve been able to take that into the rally. I’m learning with every stage, but I’ve been able to have a clean rhythm. The guys behind me will get a better road position tomorrow and I’m not sure I’m ready to push harder with my limited experience, but I will just try to do the same as today and see what it brings.”
“The plan for the rest of the event hasn’t changed, we are here to take the experience – I’m not here to win the rally. I’ve driven sensibly today; we didn’t take any huge risks. We pushed where it was good to go a bit harder and then we’ve slowed where it’s got a bit more complicated or where we’ve seen some big rocks coming. The roads have been nice today, but even when we’re coming with the ruts, the car is so nice and so balanced, it’s such a pleasure to be driving it. I have been smiling all day!
Kalle Rovanperä
“The morning loop was quite good for us. The conditions were tricky after the rain earlier in the week with some changeable grip levels, but it was a clean start for us. We made some changes for the afternoon to try to optimise the grip of the car. Still, I felt we were leaving some time on the stages and not being able to drive as sharp and precise as usual. At least we tried some things and know a bit more about the direction to go in for tomorrow. We still pushed through the whole day and tomorrow we will do the same.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Things started quite difficult this morning. I was struggling a lot, but I tried changing a few things on the car setup during the morning and the feeling was getting better and better. Then, unfortunately, the afternoon was still a bit of a struggle. We will keep working together with the engineers and my teammates to continue improving the car, and I will try to improve my driving and I will give it everything to be better tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a demanding day and a bit more difficult than we were hoping it would be. Already this morning I struggled with the grip: we had seen much damper conditions in recce, but the sun had been out since and dried out the roads and made conditions looser for us running first on the road. Then the first stage after service was particularly difficult; I think you could see it quite clearly from the times. We’ve lost quite a lot of time to the leaders, so we’ll be looking for some more speed with a better position tomorrow.”
Sami Pajari
“It was an unfortunate start this morning for us with the problem that we had from the first stage today. It was quite a long morning loop before we could get to service, but thankfully the team was able to fix the issue and we could enjoy the afternoon’s stages. It was a pity that we lost the time in the overall standings, but I’m trying not to focus too much on that and just focus on my driving, and the pace is starting to be on the level where we should be, somewhere close to the front. Tomorrow is another day with some even faster sections and I’m looking forward to it.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“It was more enjoyable than I was expecting this afternoon, although I did struggle more in the second loop than I did in the first. The cleaning effect was more pronounced with a lot of loose gravel and super low grip, but actually the balance in the car was better. Tomorrow we will really see where we are with our pace; today we were opening the road and driving a different rally, but I think it will change on Saturday. Oliver is our target, but Thierry is also very close after going very well today.”
Photographer: Vincent Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“Today was a good day; tricky conditions out there, but I was trying to make the best of it, with a few surprises here and there this morning. I really enjoyed the afternoon loop. I think there are still a few little tricks we can do in the car to get more speed, but overall, I think we can be satisfied. I am looking for a bit more consistency in terms of the chassis balance, as sometimes I’m experiencing a lot of understeer in the corner entry. We made some good improvements in service, but there might be more we can do to make the car perfect for tomorrow.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“I really had confidence to push in the car this afternoon after we made some set-up changes in services, playing with the ride height of the car and the stiffness of the bars. It felt much better for me and then the times were coming. Our target was to overtake Evans and then Katsuta, which we managed in a great afternoon after a difficult morning. Kalle is nine seconds ahead of us, although it will be tricky to catch him, but my main goal is to keep Katsuta and Evans behind as it is important for the championship.”
Saturday
The second full day will see the crews tackle almost 126km’s over nine stages. What will we see from Oliver and Elliott? Can and will the two Hyundai crews pass him? What will Elfyn and Scott be able to do with a better road position?
All these and more questions will be answered tomorrow!
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