The tough gravel rally has immediately shown at the very start of the first proper day of driving that the starting position provides significant help. The further back you can start, the more advantage you gain.
The Moon special stage, driven for the first time, belonged to M-Sport Ford’s surprise package Martins Sesks. The Latvian set his second fastest time of Friday and the fourth stage win of his career in the top category. Sesks beat Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux on this stage by as much as 4.3 seconds.
“This was really difficult. Usually you see trees or something else, like in Greece, but here you just drive over rocks, and you can’t see the road, only the horizon,” Sesks wondered.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari was also once again in good form. The Finn was fourth fastest on the Moon stage, 7.2 seconds off Sesks’ benchmark.
“It didn’t go that brilliantly. A really difficult stage and not much grip. You have to go really slowly to stay in the ruts,” Pajari summed up.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak also had good pace, finishing 5.8 seconds behind the leader. Thierry Neuville, on the other hand, drifted once again into awkwardly familiar problems, as the Belgian again suffered a puncture.
“We had a good rhythm, but we picked up a slow puncture five kilometres before the end of the stage,” Neuville said.
Of the World Championship front-runners, Kalle Rovanperä was the quickest, but he too was still 18.4 seconds off the pace. Rovanperä seems now simply to be waiting for this rally – and the entire season – to end.
“This will of course clean a lot. It’s quite crazy how much loose gravel there was. This is also quite a technical and narrow stage, so I’m pleased I only have to do it once more,” Rovanperä remarked.
In the title fight, Sébastien Ogier still holds a firm upper hand over Elfyn Evans. Ogier lost 23.4 seconds to the leader but kept Evans solidly behind him. However, Ogier has now dropped 24.6 seconds from the rally lead.
In the overall standings, surprise package Sesks continues to lead the entire rally. He has left Fourmaux 7.3 seconds behind. Pajari is third, 8.5 seconds off the lead. Ogier is seventh overall and Evans is ninth, behind Rovanperä.
Five more special stages will be driven in the Saudi Arabian Rally on Thursday. The competition ends on Saturday.
Standings in the Saudi Arabian Rally after SS3/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Martins Sesks | Ford | 29:55,9 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +7.3 |
| 3. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +8.5 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +11.7 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Hyundai | +18.4 |
| 6. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +18.6 |
| 7. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +24.6 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +25.2 |
| 9. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +39.5 |
| 10. | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford | +44.1 |
| 11. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +55.5 |
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
