Rovanperä set the fastest time on the 25-kilometre-long Lotun stage, beating his teammate Elfyn Evans by a remarkable 9.7 seconds.
With this, Rovanperä has firmly entered the battle for victory. The Finn has now moved into second place in the rally and is just 1.8 seconds behind the rally leader, Evans.
“Stages today are really nice. These roads are really rough on tyres so even on the first pass we have to look after them and the next one is the worst tyre wear-wise so lets see what happens,” Rovanperä commented at the stage finish.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak posted the third-fastest time on SS8 and dropped to third overall. He now trails the leader by 8.1 seconds.
Meanwhile, Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier was forced to retire. It appears something broke on Ogier’s car, causing him to go off the road. Although Ogier was no longer in contention for the win, this marks his second consecutive retirement after an unusual driving mistake led to his exit from Acropolis Rally.
Sami Pajari, driving his second rally of the season for Toyota, is holding fourth place. However, the Finn is now more than half a minute behind the leader. Current WRC points leader Thierry Neuville remains in fifth.
Rally Chile continues with four more stages on Saturday, and the event concludes on Sunday.
Rally Chile standings after SS8/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 1:24:12.4 |
| 2. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +1.8 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +8.1 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +31.4 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +40.8 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +54.2 |
| 7. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +1:09.7 |
| 8. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:13.4 |
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
