Thierry Neuville's Rally Chile campaign came to a dramatic halt on SS7 Saturday. The Hyundai driver started the day in sixth place and attacked the Pelun stage, but his charge ended abruptly.
Neuville's Hyundai failed to negotiate a right-hander and slammed into the bank on the outside of the corner at high speed. The car rolled violently multiple times. Fortunately, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe were reported unhurt, but their rally was over.
Meanwhile, Toyota's Sebastien Ogier launched a strong attack and set the fastest time. The Frenchman also moved up to third overall. "It was very loose at the end, but it was a clean drive," Ogier said.
Ogier now trails his teammate Oliver Solberg, the rally leader, by 14.7 seconds. Elfyn Evans is second, 6.1 seconds ahead of Ogier. Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux dropped to fourth behind Ogier but remains in the podium fight. Sami Pajari lost time on Saturday's opening stage and is now over ten seconds adrift of third place.
Pajari, running fifth, was baffled when told how quickly Ogier was coming through. "It looks like we're losing quite a lot. This is a difficult loop, so we should drive smart and save the tyres," Pajari said.
Five more stages will be contested in Chile on Saturday. The rally concludes on Sunday. Standings after SS7/16:
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