Andreas Mikkelsen’s hopes of his first World Rally Championship victory in almost eight years were ended by a tyre puncture on the opening stage of Rally Poland on Sunday, Gmina Mrągowo.
The best-placed Hyundai driver after Saturday started the final day 9.4 seconds behind rally leader Kalle Rovanperä and was given the freedom he needed by team boss Cyril Abiteboul to aim for victory.
But Mikkelsen hit an embankment in the middle of Sunday’s first test, causing a puncture. The spinning tires then ripped off most of the bodywork on the right rear axle of his car and also damaged one of the radiators that cool the hybrid system.
“We tried to keep the pressure on Kalle, we tried to keep a good pace, but that’s the game,” said Mikkelsen at the finish line. “Now the overall result is not so important, now it’s just about getting the car to the finish. We tried to keep the pressure on.”
Mikkelsen was not the only driver caught off guard by the speed but narrowness of Gmina Mrągowo; WRC2 driver Josh McErlean crashed a bale leaning against a tree at the exit of the stage’s final corner and crossed the finish line backwards.
He not only ended the stage, but also his rally, as the right rear wheel of his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 was torn off when he hit the bale.
“The last corner gets tighter right at the end,” McErlean explained. “We hit the ball and there was a tree, so I don’t think there’s much we can do. Sorry for the team.”
Ott Tänak delivered a performance that stunned his rivals, finishing 1.2 seconds faster to lead Sunday’s standings despite starting as the first car on the road and taking on street sweeping duties.
The biggest applause went to Adrien Fourmaux, who inherited third place in the overall standings after Mikkelsen’s flat tire: “Congratulations to Ott for being first on the track and for this time,” he said. “He deserved to win this rally, it’s a shame what happened on Friday.”
“I’m just amazed because I know what it means to clear the way. He’s just in a different world today.”
His teammate Thierry Neuville intervened and admitted: “I definitely wouldn’t have managed that time.”
Rally leader Rovanperä was similarly complimentary: “You can imagine how good Ott was on the stage when he was on the track for the first time, so hats off to him.”
Rovanperä’s lead in the overall standings is now 17.4 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans; in Sunday’s standings, the two Toyota drivers are in second and third place, 1.3 seconds apart.
Thierry Neuville has taken fifth place from Mārtiņš Sesks overall after missing out on overtaking him by 0.1 seconds the day before the crucial Saturday points cut-off. He is also fifth behind Fourmaux in Sunday’s race.
Robert Virves reclaimed second place in WRC2 from Oliver Solberg by winning Sunday’s opening stage by 0.6 seconds ahead of class leader Sami Pajari.
