Rowanbera leads Saturday in New Zealand and closes in on the title

The Toyota driver, who celebrated his 22nd birthday, set the fastest times in three of Saturday’s five stages in treacherous wet conditions to take a 29.0s lead over his team-mate. Sebastian Ogier.

Rowanbera He started the day in fourth place with a lead of 12.2 seconds Elfin EvansAfter suffering a Penalty of 5s per night for misusing hybrid system.

It didn’t take long for Finn Ogier to pass before him Evans had an accident In the ninth stage, the Welshman withdrew due to damage to his roll cage GR Yaris.

Kalle Rowanpera He also won that SS9 and bested his main rival for the title, Ot ThanakHyundai finished third on Saturday with a time of 46.4 seconds.

Tanak was one of three Hyundai drivers to receive a second penalty for misusing the hybrid system. Thierry Neuville Y Oliver Solberg Penalty of 10 seconds each.

Despite the penalty, Neuville finished fourth, while Solberg finished fifth after being relegated to sixth due to the penalty.

When did Solberg manage to make up lost ground? Takamoto Katsuda He crashed his Toyota on stage 12, ending every WRC event this year in the points zone.

Rain continued to fall on Saturday afternoon, creating treacherous conditions for the second lap of the morning circuit. The standing water was a major problem for motorists and co-drivers.

But that didn’t affect Rowanbera, who claimed his third fastest time to date and led Ogier by 5 seconds, who moved into second after Tanak’s penalty.

He was unable to match Rowanbera’s pace and lost 17.9 seconds, leaving the Hyundai driver over half a minute behind.

His team-mate Neuville was third fastest on that stage, while Solberg’s third Hyundai managed to finish the test despite a false crash.

Rowanbera continued his comeback in the twelfth stage as the rain began to ease. Toyota set a blistering pace in the slippery conditions and took yet another segment victory.

Ogier was close again, 6.6 seconds behind, but the Frenchman received a 10-second penalty for reaching the podium a minute late.

However, Tanak revealed that all was not well with his Hyundai after losing 7.8 seconds on the podium.

“Of course, not everything is perfect, but the goal is to overtake,” Thanak said. “Thankfully the conditions were very consistent and with less muddy spots. It’s a shame.”

However, he fared better than Katsuta, who backed off the road. The Japanese misjudged a sharp left-hander, causing his GR Yaris to roll down an embankment. Both pilot and co-pilot Aaron Johnston They are fine.

The last stage of the day was closed due to reduced visibility and grip for the last competitors, with tomorrow canceled due to a crash in the 5.81km short time trial. Gus Greensmith.

However, that part will bring joy m-sportBreen took advantage of the better weather to set the fastest time, the second scratch of the event.

Rowanbera lost ground in the difficult conditions but still managed to set the second-fastest time, which was enough to extend his rally lead over Ogier until Sunday.

Rally leader Rowanbera needs to overtake himself by eight points on Sunday to become the youngest world champion in WRC history.

New Zealand Hayden Baden Heading into the final day with a comfortable lead of 2:04.7 seconds Kajetan Kajetanovicz In WRC2. Supercar Champion Shane Van GisbergenHe finished the day in third place, but his hopes of catching Kajedanovic faded after suffering a right-front puncture on stage 12.

WRC crews will compete in four stages of 31.18km to conclude the rally on Sunday.

Scratches from Saturday’s podium at the 2022 WRC Rally New Zealand

SS8: C. Breen

SS9: K. Rowanbera

SS10: Cancelled

SS11: K. Rowanpera

SS12: K. Rowanpera

SS13: C. Breen

WRC Rally New Zealand 2022 – Qualifying and Times After Saturday (SS13)