The Welsh driver posted the fastest time on the second run of the Pelun stage, 2.3 seconds ahead of his teammate Kalle Rovanperä. The leading drivers are using different combinations of hard and soft tyres, so the situation could change during the afternoon loop.
If rain comes, the soft tyres will be valuable. For now, however, Evans is satisfied with his choices. Both he and Rovanperä are carrying four hard tyres and two softs.
“It was okay, little rough. Let’s see,” Evans commented.
“Quite tricky stage to be honest, first part in the forest with the hard tyres is really slippery. It is really hard to tell how fast to go on the downhill as you don’t want to kill the tyres. We have two hard tyres with us again so we hope that works for us,” Rovanperä explained.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is in third place, 7.1 seconds behind Rovanperä. Tänak is running only six hard compound tyres.
“It’s hard to say what the right tyre choice is. At least we went with a safe option. Let’s see how things evolve,” Tänak remarked.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who leads the championship, is fourth in the rally, 53.6 seconds off the lead. In fifth place is Toyota’s Sami Pajari, driving his second Rally1 event. The Finnish driver is one minute and 10 seconds behind the leader.
“It is simply experience now. Now I know how these stages are with this car. It is giving the confidence, sometimes when I have that then the times are coming,” Pajari said.
In sixth place is M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, ahead of his teammate Gregoire Munster. Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi holds eighth place.
In WRC2, Skoda’s Oliver Solberg leads and is also in contention for the class championship. Citroen’s Yohan Rossel trails the Swede by 14.5 seconds.
Two more stages remain on Saturday at Rally Chile, with the event concluding on Sunday.
Rally Chile standings after SS10/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 1:51:40.5 |
| 2. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +13.6 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +20.7 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +53.6 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:10.5 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:31.6 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:35.4 |
| 8. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +1:48.9 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +4:29.1 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +4:43.6 |
Rally Chile itinerary (CET):
Thursday, 26 Sept: 13:31 Shakedown: Conuco (6.79 km) Friday, 27 Sept: 13:35 SS1: Pulperia 1 (19.72 km) 14:30 SS2: Rere 1 (13.34 km) 15:21 SS3: San Rosendo 1 (23.32 km) 18:11 Service (30 min) 19:46 SS4: Pulperia 2 (19.72 km) 20:41 SS5: Rere 2 (13.34 km) 21:32 SS6: San Rosendo 2 (23.32 km) Saturday, 28 Sept: 14:07 SS7: Pelun 1 (15.65 km) 15:01 SS8: Lota 1 (25.64 km) 16:05 SS9: Maria las Cruces 1 (28.31 km) 18:37 Service (30 min) 20:07 SS10: Pelun 2 (15.65 km) 21:01 SS11: Lota 2 (25.64 km) 22:05 SS12: Maria las Cruces 2 (28.31 km) Sunday, 29 Sept: 13:23 SS13: Laraquete 1 (18.62 km) 14:35 SS14: Bio Bio 1 (8.78 km) 15:35 SS15: Laraquete 2 (18.62 km) 18:15 SS16: Bio Bio 2 (8.78 km) Power Stage
