Evans had fallen significantly behind Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville’s fastest time in the opening stage, but on the morning’s second special stage, the Welshman made a strong counterattack. Evans bested Neuville by 1.7 seconds in a short burst.
Neuville continues to lead in the overall standings, but Evans has closed the gap to just 4.9 seconds from the top position.
“Quite different conditions and character. Difficult stage, difficult to carry the momentum. I like the character of the short ones,” Evans reported.
Neuville had complained about the understeer of his Hyundai after the first stage. The situation had hardly improved before the second special stage.
“Generally struggling with the front end. Grip is good, but not so nice. Let’s see, few tricky corners in there,” Neuville stated.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier is currently third in the competition, 17.6 seconds behind the leader. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is right on the French driver’s heels.
According to Tänak, the setup on his car are not quite right.
“The car is not really working, it is difficult to drive,” Tänak said.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux has started the Croatian asphalt rally steadily and is currently in fifth place. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta and Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen have fallen further behind the leading drivers.
In the WRC2 class, Nikolay Gryazin has taken the lead ahead of his Citroën team-mate Yohan Rossel.
Six more special stages will be run on Friday in the Croatia Rally. The event concludes on Sunday.
Standings after SS2/20 of the Croatia Rally:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 17:49.0 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +4.9 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +17.6 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +18.5 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +22.9 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +44.8 |
| 7. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +1:06.5 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +1:11.1 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:13.4 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +1:24.2 |
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
