Neuville and Toyota driver Elfyn Evans have been playing a cat-and-mouse game throughout the day, exchanging the lead several times. However, in the afternoon loop, Neuville has taken the upper hand over his rival.
Neuville set the fastest time on the penultimate special stage of Saturday, consolidating his overall lead to four seconds ahead of Evans. Thus, the Belgian has a firm grip on the major points that are to be awarded based on Saturday night’s results.
“I am enjoying it but it’s on the edge. It’s fun, one more stage to go. The fight is going to continue so no mistakes and a clean run through,” Neuville said.
Evans did his best on the 15th special stage but ultimately fell 1.7 seconds short of Neuville’s fastest time.
“We’re doing what we can, it’s part of the game. It was a good run but we missed a couple of key areas, could’ve given more than we’d like to,” Evans reported.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier is still in the fight for the overall victory, but he has no chance for the maximum points on Saturday unless something happens to the leading duo in the evening’s final stage. Ogier is 11.1 seconds behind Neuville.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak continues in fourth place, and M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux is in fifth. They, however, have a clearer gap from the top battle.
One more special stage will be run in the Croatia Rally on Saturday. The competition concludes on Sunday. The first provisional World Championship points will be distributed Saturday evening according to the new system.
Standings at the Croatia Rally after SS15/20:
| POS | Drivers | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 2:04:58.8 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +4.0 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +11.1 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1:13.0 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:30.8 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +2:10.4 |
| 7. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +3:50.3 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +4:41.1 |
| 9. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +7:26.1 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +7:52.0 |
| 11. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +8:33.3 |
| 12. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +8:47.9 |
Croatia Rally itinerary (CET):
Thursday, April 18 09:01 Shakedown: Okić (3.65 km) Friday, April 19 08:28 SS1: Krašić - Sošice 1 (23.63 km) 09:41 SS2: Jaškovo - Mali Modruš Potok 1 (9.48 km) 10:39 SS3: Ravna Gora - Skrad 1 (10.13 km) 11:47 SS4: Platak 1 (16.63 km) 14:02 Tyre fitting zone (15 min) 14:45 SS5: Platak 2 (16.63 km) 15:58 SS6: Ravna Gora - Skrad 2 (10.13 km) 17:16 SS7: Jaškovo - Mali Modruš Potok 2 (9.48 km) 18:09 SS8: Krašić - Sošice 2 (23.63 km) Saturday, April 20 07:31 SS9: Smerovišće - Grdanjci 1 (15.72 km) 08:24 SS10: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas 1 (20.77 km) 10:05 SS11: Vinski Vrh - Duga Resa 1 (8.78 km) 11:03 SS12: Pećurkovo Brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 1 (9.11 km) 13:03 Service (40 min) 14:31 SS13: Smerovišće - Grdanjci 2 (15.72 km) 15:24 SS14: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas 2 (20.77 km) 17:05 SS15: Vinski Vrh - Duga Resa 2 (8.78 km) 18:03 SS16: Pećurkovo Brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 2 (9.11 km) Sunday, April 21 07:08 SS17: Trakošćan - Vrbno 1 (13.15 km) 08:35 SS18: Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec 1 (14.24 km) 10:23 SS19: Trakošćan - Vrbno 2 (13.15 km) 13:15 SS20: Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec 2 (14.24 km) *Power Stage
