Rovaniemi (Finland) (AFP)

Winner of three specials out of six on Saturday, the Estonian Ott Tänak remained in the lead of the Arctic Rally, 2nd round of the World Championship (WRC) contested in Finland, after the 8th special in which the French Sébastien Ogier left. of the road.

200 meters from the finish of this hotly contested night special, the reigning world champion, and leader of the championship after his victory in Monte-Carlo at the end of January, finished his race in a wall of snow.

"We went a little too far to the side and we hung up the snow wall, it's a shame but it's a weekend to forget," lamented the Frenchman.

Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, his co-driver, managed to get out of the car to finish the stage, but they are now far behind: 22nd at 11 minutes.

They will try to limit the damage on Sunday by taking points in the closing Power Stage.

Sixth in the provisional general classification before this last special, more than a minute from the leader, the French driver had suffered the day before from his position as opener on the snow-covered roads of Lapland.

Pierre-Louis Loubet (Hyundai 2C Competition), the other Frenchman entered in the WRC for his first full season, did not finish the day after a mechanical problem.

He had already been the victim of a puncture on Friday that caused him to lose several minutes.

Far ahead of the struggling French, Tänak, the 2019 world champion, has been leading since the start of the weekend.

His runner-up, the young Finnish prodigy Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), author of a scratch time at the end of the day (SS7), is 24 seconds.

- Tributes to Hannu Mikkola -

If the son of former driver Harri Rovanperä managed to take the lead over the Estonian after the last two stages on Sunday, he would become, at 20, the youngest driver to win in the World Rally Championship. .

He will still have to beware of Thierry Neuville, another Hyundai driver, who is behind him within two seconds.

The Belgian also signed the last scratch time of the day on Saturday.

"It was a very good stage. The car was running really well (...) and communication is better (with his new co-driver, editor's note), but we can still improve," he explained.

"I think the main objective is to bring home a double podium for Hyundai. I don't need to ask my boss, I know what it is worth doing tomorrow!" Added Neuville.

This day was also marked by the announcement of the death at the age of 78 of Finnish rally legend Hannu Mikkola, world champion in 1983.

"Very sad day for the rally family. Hannu Mikkola was a legendary driver and a lifelong friend (...) I had the privilege of being his co-driver, in 1975 we raced the Arctic Rally on a Fiat 124 ", reacted on Twitter the president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Jean Todt.

Michèle Mouton, vice-world rally champion in 1982, remembers a "fantastic driver".

"As a teammate at Audi, Hannu has been a great person, always seeing me as his equal - even though I was a young woman coming into the world championship - and always sharing all information," she said. , interviewed by the WRC organization.

“He was one of the 'Flying Finns' and a true gentleman. He inspired so many people, including myself, and I'm happy to have been able to meet him and share good memories of rallies, "greeted on Twitter his compatriot and ex-driver Jari-Matti Latvala, now Toyota boss in the WRC.

Other drivers, including world champions Ogier, Carlos Sainz and Petter Solberg, also paid tribute to Mikkola.

© 2021 AFP