Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who had been leading earlier, made two driving mistakes and dropped to fourth place, more than half a minute behind the leader. On Saturday evening, the first conditional WRC points will be awarded. Ogier’s main threat for the overall victory is currently Hyundai driver Ott Tänak, who is just 4.6 seconds behind the Frenchman.
“It was a challenging morning. I think we were with Elfyn and probably with Ott only ones, who did not have any moments. We were fighting very close the whole morning. Ott had a very strong start in the first one. He managed to find the confidence quicker than anybody else,” Ogier summarised.
“But on the outside, let’s say we had a consistent morning. The second stage was probably the more enjoyable as it was the most consistent of conditions.”
The stages in Germany and Austria were expected to be easier than Friday’s special stages in the Czech Republic. However, thick fog made Saturday morning significantly more difficult.
“I think some of the anti-cut devices we’ve seen in recce have disappeared or moved, and then it’s just more dirty than we thought,” Ogier explained.
“Gravel crews was saying that it’s mainly dry, but then the fog came in the morning. It got thicker and thicker and then it just started to affect the road. Then it started to be more and more slippery.”
Ogier didn’t entirely avoid tricky moments himself.
“We had also a little moment in the last one. It started very dry with quite good grip. And of course then you start to attack. Then very quickly you approach the sections where is a bit more humidity still there. And then it was easy to do mistakes. So I think many drivers went a little bit off the road,” Ogier explained.
