Having sat out the last two WRC events, Ogier quickly found top form behind the wheel of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car. On his second attempt, the French star posted the fastest time on the Okic shakedown, outpacing his teammate Elfyn Evans by 0.7 seconds.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak tied for third place in the warm-up for Croatia’s tarmac rally, both finishing 1.4 seconds behind Ogier’s leading time.
Adrien Fourmaux of M-Sport Ford, who has been in fine form in recent rallies, started his Croatian campaign with the fifth fastest time on the shakedown. Following him were the top class drivers Andreas Mikkelsen, Takamoto Katsuta, and Gregoire Munster.
Behind the wheel of Rally2 cars, Yohan Rossel was the quickest on the shakedown, beating Nikolay Gryazin by 0.4 seconds, with Sami Pajari finishing third, 1.2 seconds behind Rossel.
The Croatia Rally kicks off on Friday, featuring eight special stages.
Results of the Croatia Rally shakedown:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 1:55.7 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 1:56.4 |
| 3. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 1:57.1 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 1:57.1 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | 1:58.2 |
| 6. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | 1:58.9 |
| 7. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | 1:59.2 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | 2:01.4 |
| 9. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | 2:02.6 |
| 10. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | 2:03.0 |
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
