Frenchman keeps cool in fierce heat to lead Evans on dirt in the mountains
SĂ©bastien Ogier kept his cool in the sweltering heat to lead Rally Guanajuato Mexico after Fridayâs incident-filled opening leg.
The world champion headed Elfyn Evans by 14.8sec after a tough day of dirt road action in the mountains near LeĂłn sidelined closest rivals and Hyundai i20 team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Dani Sordo.
Two morning speed test wins earned Mikkelsen a slender 1.6sec advantage over Ogier at the midpoint. The Norwegianâs efforts proved in vain when he retired near the finish of the afternoonâs repeated El Chocolate test with broken suspension after hitting a stone.
His demise left Sordo less than two seconds adrift of Ogierâs CitroĂ«n C3. The Spaniard, driving his first rally of the season, was powerless to challenge Ogier when he stopped on a liaison section after the following special stage with a suspected electrical problem.
Temperatures which topped 31°C and altitudes of more than 2750 metres ensured a trying day for crews and hard-working engines and transmissions, but Ogierâs problems were restricted to a puncture.
âItâs been an almost perfect day but it wasnât easy. Starting third on the road wasnât ideal and the grip was very low in the first pass. We can benefit from the best start position tomorrow, but weâll have to stay out of trouble as well,â he said.
Evansâ Ford Fiesta ran hot all day but he had the better of a battle with fellow Briton Kris Meeke, edging clear to end with a 6.3sec advantage.
Meeke was hampered by dust inside his Toyota Yaris but headed championship leader Ott TĂ€nak by 16.0sec. The Estonian overhauled Esapekka Lappi in the final pair of tests at LeĂłnâs motor racing circuit to claim fourth, a position he could barely have dreamed of.
As road opener, TĂ€nak swept loose gravel from the surface, leaving more grip and a faster line for those starting behind. He lost time in virtually every test, but two stage wins and the high rate of attrition helped him climb the order.
Lappi was disappointed by his pace and lost time with a spin to drop behind Yaris team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. It proved academic when Latvala retired from fourth before the circuit tests with alternator failure.
An unwell Thierry Neuville was sixth in the sole-surviving i20. He dropped nearly 45sec with an early puncture and second in the start order offered conditions only marginally better than TĂ€nak.
Saturdayâs leg is the longest of the event. Two identical loops of three tough gravel stages in the mountains north and east of LeĂłn are followed by re-runs of todayâs motor racing circuit and city street tests. The nine stages cover 138.37km.
Leading positions after Friday
1. S Ogier / J Ingrassia FRA Citroën 1:18.33.8
2. E Evans / S Martin GBR Ford +14.8
3. K Meeke / S Marshall GBR Toyota +21.1
4. O TĂ€nak / M JĂ€rveoja EST Toyota +37.1
5. E Lappi / J Ferm FIN Citroën +39.1
6. T Neuville / N Gilsoul BEL Hyundai +1:00.7