Ogier extends advantage as Neuville moves into second

• Ogier grabs Rally de España lead heading into Saturday
• Hyundai drops Solberg from 2023 line-up

Sebastien Ogier (FRA) Benjamin Veillas (FRA) Of team TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT are seen performing during the World Rally Championship Spain in Salou, Spain on 22,October 2022 // Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202210220279 // Usage for editorial use only //

Sebastien Ogier has put himself in prime position to win the RACC Rally de España after stretching his lead to 20.7s over new second place holder, Thierry Neuville. Kalle Rovanpera falls into third position however he is just 1.4s back.

Despite Neuville starting the day strong with the opening stage win, Ogier would quickly fall back into his Friday rhythm by winning the very next stage. Ogier’s form allowed him to take time out of his closest rival at the time, Rovanpera, ending back at the midday service with a 9.7s gap to his teammate.

Ogier commented: “I think so far the car is working well and I am enjoying it. I am not yet at the maximum, but we have to carry on like this”

There was a bit of disruption for teams in the morning due to Gus Greensmith crashing his car on SS11, the Puma ended up blocking the road which meant the stage had to be cancelled, shortening the morning stint for the competitors.

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Neuville closed down Rovanpera to a gap of 4.5s by the mid-point but he wouldn’t move into second until the final stage of the day. The Belgian had got the gap down to 0.4s after out pacing Rovanpera in SS14 and then proceed to keep the momentum to finish the day with a 1.4s gap.

Ott Tanak and Dani Sordo completed the top five 36.6s and 1min 13s back respectively from Ogier. Tanak had a trouble-free run throughout the day, but he was frustrated to be so far off the pace. Sordo however had a contrasting run, The Spaniard was repeatedly dropping time to the leading bunch, however, some set up tweak for the afternoon yielded better results, including a stage win.

Elfyn Evans struggled for pace and was bemused as to why that was the case. His lack of speed left him a further 14.4s down on Sordo at the close of the day. Craig Breen suffered from tyre overheating and fell to a 1min 39.7s deficit to Ogier although the Irishman managed to extend his gap to Takamoto Katsuta.

Top 6 after Day 1

1. Ogier 2hr 10min 18s
2. Neuville +20.7s
3. Rovanpera +22.1s
4. Tanak +38.6s
5. Sordo +1min 13.2s
6. Evans +1min 27.6s

Keyword: Ogier extends advantage as Neuville moves into second