Rovanperä ran wide on a right-hand corner, costing him time. In total, he lost 15.8 seconds compared to the stage-winning time. This dropped Rovanperä to third place, behind Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. Earlier in the morning, the first stage of the day was cancelled, and with the second run time also counting for the morning’s run, the mistake was especially unfortunate.
“I had a bit wide moment in a low speed corner, nothing too dramatic but a bit unfortunate. I had to reverse out, but it’s a shame because this stage also affects our time from the morning,” Rovanperä explained.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans remains in the lead of the rally. Tänak trails the Welshman by 2.7 seconds, and Rovanperä is 7.5 seconds behind. Sami Pajari is currently in fifth place. During the first stage of the afternoon loop, both Tänak and M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux overtook Pajari by just 0.9 seconds.
“It’s fine if it is not too bad, it was quite tricky. Some places were extremely tricky and I did not have the feeling or the confidence to push in some places so I could not push in other places. No mistakes, that’s the way to go,” Pajari said.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville sits in seventh place. Behind him is teammate Esapekka Lappi, who suffered a puncture during the first stage of the afternoon loop. Luckily, the puncture occurred towards the end of the stage, and Lappi only lost 27.2 seconds to the stage winner. Overall, Lappi is now 35 seconds behind the leader.
“I don’t know what happened. It happened on a straight. I’m sure I didn’t hit anything. Just bad luck,” Lappi summarised.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier, who changed a tyre earlier in the morning, dominated the first stage of the afternoon. Ogier set the fastest time, beating Tänak by 5.9 seconds. The other leading drivers were more than ten seconds behind Ogier.
“I promise I still love you guys, I will give you more comments throughout the weekend. It is not the most intelligent way but it is all the tools we have, so tomorrow I will have more for you,” Ogier remarked.
Two more special stages remain on Friday in Rally Chile, with the competition concluding on Sunday.
Rally Chile standings after SS4/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 39:17.4 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +2.7 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +7.5 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +9.0 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +9.9 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +10.3 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +17.2 |
| 8. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +35.0 |
| 9. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1:31.3 |
| 10. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +1:33.4 |
| 11. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +1:45.7 |
| 12. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +1:47.6 |
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
