Evans leads in Chile after Ogier's troubles

Elfyn Evans leads Rally Chile Bio Bío after Friday's early stages, while his Toyota teammate, Sébastien Ogier, has faced setbacks that complicate his participation. Ogier was one of the few to complete the opening stage before it was canceled due to safety concerns related to the crowd. At that moment, the French driver had gained nearly 10 seconds over the rest.

However, Evans responded by winning the next stage aboard his Toyota Yaris, cutting the gap to 6.6 seconds. The situation changed dramatically when Ogier went off the road in the third stage and had to stop to change a rear wheel, which cost him around 1 minute and 50 seconds. This allowed Evans to take the lead, followed by teammate Kalle Rovanperä.

Tricky conditions and road handling

Evans, fourth in the running order, commented on the challenging road conditions, with some parts of the surface cleaning up and others where loose gravel affected the handling. Rovanperä, a two-time world champion, won the final stage of the morning but expressed dissatisfaction with the car's performance, saying he didn't feel comfortable on the Chilean roads. "I'm fighting both the car and my driving style," the Finnish driver admitted.

Pajari impresses in his second Rally1 appearance

Sami Pajari, competing in his second Rally1 event, surprised by securing third place overall, only 4.4 seconds behind Rovanperä. Meanwhile, Grégoire Munster, behind the wheel of a Ford Puma, marked his best rally start to date, reaching fourth place after the third stage.

Munster finished the morning with a narrow four-tenths of a second lead over Ott Tänak, while Adrien Fourmaux, in his Chile debut, rounded out the top six. Championship leader Thierry Neuville struggled with the road conditions as the first driver on the track and trailed Fourmaux by 6.4 seconds.

Problems for Ogier and other drivers

Despite Ogier's issues possibly benefiting Neuville in the title fight, the Belgian remained focused on his own performance. Meanwhile, other drivers like Mārtiņš Sesks and Esapekka Lappi also faced difficulties. Sesks lost over five minutes after stopping to change a damaged wheel, and Lappi struggled to find confidence in his Hyundai, finishing the morning in eighth, 18.3 seconds behind the leader.

Sesks retires in his Chile debut

Mārtiņš Sesks’ participation in Rally Chile ended abruptly on day one. Competing in his third event with the Ford Puma Rally1, Sesks suffered two punctures and had only one spare wheel, forcing him to retire. The problem occurred during the San Rosendo stage, where he went off the road and hit a bank. Despite this setback, the Latvian hopes to return to the rally on Saturday.