Oliver Solberg successfully navigated a chaotic Saturday morning loop at Rally Chile to maintain a 10.1-second advantage over current championship leader Elfyn Evans.
Thierry Neuville crashed out of the event on stage seven. Jon Armstrong rolled his M-Sport Ford Puma into a bank on the subsequent test. Solberg instead opted for measured tyre conservation to survive the brutal tyre gamble on the South American gravel. These contrasting approaches defined a punishing morning loop.
Neuville And Armstrong Suffer Rolls
The Toyota GR Yaris driver struggled for confidence around the Concepción stages but delivered a blistering run through stage nine to restore his overnight buffer.
“I’m happy [with the stage win]. It felt horrendous,” Solberg told motorsport.com. “I tried to take care of the tyres at the beginning and try to push at the end. It was not a perfect morning but a clean morning.”
Neuville abandoned his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 after a high-speed compression pitched him into a violent sequence of rolls.
“Basically I came into a compression slightly too fast and I got kicked out of the line and we ended up in a roll,” the Belgian confirmed to motorsport.com.
Ogier Chases Final Podium Spot
Reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier won stages seven and eight to close within 9.3 seconds of the lead. However, Adrien Fourmaux utilised a disciplined tyre saving strategy to reclaim third overall heading into the midday service.
Fourmaux ran softer rubber to overcome Ogier, keeping his own rally win target alive.
“We are still third, so that’s OK,” Fourmaux added via DirtFish.
The surviving crews now prepare for the abrasive Saturday afternoon loop.
