Monza (Italy) (AFP)
Sébastien Ogier is leading the Rallye de Monza, 7th and final round of the WRC Championship, on Saturday evening, after 13 special stages out of 16, and well on his way to a 7th world title which will be certain if he wins this rally on Sunday.
Elfyn Evans, his teammate at Toyota and main rival for the world title, indeed got off the road in the 11th special stage (SS11), Saturday afternoon, when he was 3rd and managed his race perfectly, in contact from Ogier.
The Welshman made a mistake, all alone, on a very slippery portion, and his Toyota ended up below the road, in a place where there was no spectator.
He then signaled to Ogier, also a member of the Japanese team, to slow down to avoid making the same mistake.
"I'm really sorry for him," said the Frenchman at the stop point of this crucial SS11.
"And for the championship there are still a lot of kilometers to go, so I went into survival mode, I'm no longer in brawl mode", added the Hautes-Alpes rider.
In the wake of this very tricky ES11, the organizers decided to cancel the ES12, due to the amount of snow that fell in a few hours, since the first pass in the morning, and Ogier's survival mode was therefore more easy to manage.
The competitors then left for the Monza circuit where the 13th special was held, won by Dani Sordo in his Hyundai.
The Spaniard is still 2nd in the standings ahead of his Estonian teammate Ott Tänak, the 2019 champion.
Tänak only has a very small chance, especially mathematically, to be crowned Sunday, because he is 28 points behind Evans.
But in the duel between Koreans and Japanese for the constructors' title, it was Hyundai which took the advantage on Saturday, thanks to Evans leaving the road.
- Big fight between Ogier and Sordo -
Before the big mistake of the Welshman, this day of rallying in the Italian Alps, north of Bergamo, was punctuated by the mano a mano between Ogier and Sordo, Sébastien Loeb's former lieutenant at Citroën.
Ogier attacked from the start and set the best time during the first passage in Selvino (SS7, 25 km), on roads very similar to those of his native Hautes-Alpes.
Then he was less good in Gerosa (SS8), won by Sordo.
"I was too careful," said Ogier at the stop sign, visibly disappointed, as his lead over Evans fell from 13 to 8 seconds in the space of 11 km.
It was Evans who ended the morning with a scratch time in SS9 (Costa Valle Imagna), coming back to less than a second from Sordo.
Then after the midday break SS10 was neutralized because of a spin by Ole Christian Veiby, his Hyundai obstructing the passage.
The last three specials (SS14 to SS16) will take place on Sunday morning in the park of the venerable Monza autodrome where the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix is held every year.
Evans arrived at Monza 14 points ahead of Ogier and is expected to return to the race on Sunday, which will allow him to aim for the five bonus points of the final Power Stage (SS16).
If Evans wins the Power Stage, and he's perfectly capable of it, that will force Ogier to win the rally (25 points) to be sure he is crowned.
Or to finish 2nd (18 points) by also gleaning two points in the Power Stage, those of the 4th place.
Nothing is really finished in the race for the 2020 title, after a season truncated by the coronavirus and suspended for almost six months, from March to September.
But Ogier is in a good position to match Lewis Hamilton on Sunday.
© 2020 AFP