Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier, who is chasing his ninth world championship title in Saudi Arabia, had so far avoided punctures – but on the first stage of the afternoon loop, he finally suffered one as well.
Fortunately for Ogier, it was a so-called slow puncture, and it happened right at the very end of the Alghulah special stage. As a result, Ogier was still able to beat both Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans, and the Frenchman did not lose too much time. However, he now has only one spare tyre left for the remaining stages of the loop.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak set the second fastest time of the day and left Martins Sesks 1.9 seconds behind on this stage.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari finished fifth, losing 4.7 seconds to Tänak’s benchmark. Pajari was slightly worried about his situation at the stage finish.
“We have some kind of problem – or there’s a strange noise coming from the rear of the car. We need to have a look. It might be that the tyre has just delaminated a bit again,” Pajari said.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä recorded only the eighth fastest time and lost 9.8 seconds to the leaders. The Finn was not at all pleased at the stage finish.
“This stage was in pretty rough condition. There were some massive hits all the time on the road. Let’s see how we get through the remaining stages,” Rovanperä said.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, meanwhile, had a violent moment. He slid off the line towards rocks but managed to stop his car just before it hit them. Katsuta’s car therefore remained intact, and he continued. He also suffered a slow puncture towards the end of the stage, but even that did not ruin the Japanese driver’s chances too badly. He continues the rally in sixth place.
The overall situation did not change much. Adrien Fourmaux still leads the rally, but the gap to M-Sport’s Martins Sesks is only 1.9 seconds. Pajari remains third, 6.3 seconds off the lead. Tänak has now climbed to a shared third place, and the Estonian is also 6.3 seconds behind the front.
The drivers involved in the championship fight hold their familiar positions. Ogier is seventh, 24.1 seconds ahead of Rovanperä, and Elfyn Evans remains tenth. He can still climb ahead of Ford’s Grégoire Munster, as the gap between the two is only 5.7 seconds.
Two more special stages will be driven on Friday at Rally Saudi Arabia. The event concludes on Saturday.
Rally Saudi Arabia standings after SS12/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | 2:09:02.7 |
| 2. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +1.9 |
| 3. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +6.3 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +6.3 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +44.2 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:17.4 |
| 7. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1:34.8 |
| 8. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +1:58.9 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +4:07.2 |
| 10. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +4:12.9 |
Rally Saudi Arabia itinerary (CET):
Wednesday 26 November 09:01 Shakedown: Thahban (4.56 km) 18:35 SS1: Jameel Motorsport Super Special 1 (5.22 km) Thursday 27 November 06:08 SS2: Al Faisaliyah 1 (19.36 km) 07:06 SS3: Moon Stage 1 (20.12 km) 08:04 SS4: Khulais 1 (11.33 km) 10:14 Service (40 min) 12:22 SS5: Al Faisaliyah 2 (19.36 km) 13:20 SS6: Moon Stage 2 (20.12 km) 14:18 SS7: Khulais 2 (11.33 km) 17:28 Service (45 min) 18:31 SS8: Jameel Motorsport Super Special 2 (5.22 km) Friday 28 November 06:26 SS9: Alghulah 1 (11.69 km) 07:19 SS10: Um Al Jerem 1 (30.58 km) 08:35 SS11: Wadi Almatwi 1 (24.90 km) 10:15 Service (40 min) 11:51 SS12: Alghulah 2 (11.69 km) 12:47 SS13: Um Al Jerem 2 (30.58 km) 14:05 SS14: Wadi Almatwi 2 (24.90 km) Saturday 29 November 07:05 SS15: Thahban 1 (16.29 km) 08:21 SS16: Asfan (33.28 km) 11:15 SS17: Thahban 2 (16.29 km) *Power Stage
