Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville set the fastest time on the short 11th special stage, extending his lead in the overall standings – but only slightly.
Neuville ultimately beat Toyota’s Elfyn Evans by 0.9 seconds.
“0.9sec is a lot, I’m really happy. I don’t think I could go any faster in there,” Neuville beamed.
The rally’s battle by tenths is heating up, as second-placed Evans is only 1.7 seconds behind Neuville. The duo started Saturday’s stages on equal footing, so they have been nearly in sync throughout the morning loop.
“Is not easy, but we have to just drive and see what happen,” Evans remarked.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier is also in the mix for victory. The Frenchman is 8.4 seconds off the lead.
On the Vinski Vrh-Duga Resa stage, Ogier eventually finished 1.6 seconds behind Neuville’s fastest time.
“Small jump – I don’t know. We struggled with suspension, massive kick and a big oversteer. Very close call, quite early in,” Ogier recounted.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak continues in the competition in fourth place, but he is now 49.2 seconds behind the leader. M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux is meanwhile 12.1 seconds behind Tänak.
Nikolay Gryazin maintains the lead in the WRC2 class ahead of his Citroen teammate Yohan Rossel. Toyota driver Sami Pajari set the fastest time in the class on the 11th special stage. He is fourth in the overall standings.
The Croatia Rally continues on Saturday with five more special stages. The event concludes on Sunday.
Standings at the Croatia Rally after SS11/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 1:32:36.2 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1.7 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +8.4 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +49.2 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:01.3 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:48.7 |
| 7. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +2:59.6 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:47.0 |
| 9. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +5:22.0 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +5:43.2 |
| 11. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +6:10.2 |
| 12. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +6:26.9 |
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
