Tänak was third-fastest on the stage but moved into the rally lead, holding a 2.5-second advantage over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. The fastest time on the stage went to Sebastien Ogier, who had suffered a puncture earlier in the day.
“I’m not feeling so good on the second pass, it was all working fine this morning. We have to try and be careful obviously,” Evans summarised.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä is in third place, but he’s struggling with his driving. He is now 7.2 seconds behind the leader.
“Still a big struggle for me, the feeling is quite clear that it can’t get any better in these conditions. I keep trying all the time but it is easy to make a mistake when you don’t feel 100% with the driving,” Rovanperä admitted.
M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster moved up to fourth place, surprising many with his pace in Chile. Munster trails Rovanperä by just 1.7 seconds.
“The stage before we did not have so much confidence with so many deceptive corners and the rear sliding, but this was a really good run. We took six tyres, we will try to benefit from it now,” Munster said.
Sami Pajari of Toyota holds fifth place, while Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is in sixth, just ahead of his teammate Esapekka Lappi.
“More or less comfortable, but there is room to improve, I didn’t have many moments here and it is starting to be more and more comfortable,” Pajari commented.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux received a one-minute time penalty for arriving six minutes late to the stage start. Despite a warning light flashing on his dashboard throughout the stage, Fourmaux set the second-fastest time, just 0.2 seconds behind Ogier.
“We had an issue with the alternator. Putting back the fan, I damaged a pipe. Now I have to fix the pipe. We are still in the game,” Fourmaux said.
Fourmaux is currently eighth, just ahead of Ogier, who is maintaining his silence as a protest against the suspended €30,000 fine he received after criticising the organisers and the FIA over starting intervals at Acropolis Rally.
“Life is good, we try to enjoy it,” Ogier joked.
One more special stage remains on Friday in Rally Chile, with the rally concluding on Sunday.
Rally Chile standings after SS5/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 45:57.3 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2.5 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +7.2 |
| 4. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +8.9 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +10.0 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +23.2 |
| 7. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +33.3 |
| 8. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:05.2 |
| 9. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1:27.3 |
| 10. | Nikolai Grjazin | Skoda | +1:48.3 |
| 11. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +1:51.4 |
| 12. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +2:02.2 |
| 13. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +2:03.3 |
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
