Marmaris (Turkey) (AFP)
The Hyundai of Norway's Andreas Mikkelsen and Belgium's Thierry Neuville were tied for the first time in the opening round of the Rally Turkey (SS1 of 17) on Thursday in the streets of Marmaris (south-west).
Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) of France was fourth at 1: 7/10 and Ott Tänak of Toyota (Toyota) was seventh at 4: 2/10.
After ten rounds of fourteen this season, Tänak, leader of the World Rally Championship (WRC), is 33 points clear of Neuville and 40 over Ogier.
The drivers will get off to a good start on Friday with two three-day special loops totaling 159.14 kilometers, more than half of the timed distance of the event.
"Tomorrow will be a huge day," said six-time world champion Ogier Thursday night, "it's more than half of the rally in the toughest conditions, in my opinion."
The rocky and brittle tracks, the temperatures exceeding 30 degrees and the slow average speed, which pose cooling problems, pose significant constraints on the mechanics, transforming the Turkish sleeve into a test of endurance and strategy rather than velocity.
© 2019 AFP