The iconic Fafe stage never fails to deliver drama and excitement. Serving as the opening stage on the final day, the short 11.15km run gave the drivers a workout and the fans a spectacle. It also gave Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier a chance to close the gap on teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, who now leads the event by only 7.8s.
It was Ogier who took the stage win, finishing in 6:49.8s, just 1.7s faster than Latvala. The Frenchman didn’t disappoint when it came to the jump, turning his Polo R into a jet for a short while as it covered a massive distance in the air.
The third quickest over the stage was Andreas Mikkelsen, who completed 3.5s slower than Ogier, and 1.8s slower than Latvala. The top-three Volkswagen stage finish mirrored a change in the overall results, with the three drivers finding themselves in the same positions position for the rally overall. However, a 32km second stage could well give Citroen’s Kirs Meeke another opportunity to get back on the podium.
In WRC2 things were somewhat more spectacular. It was Nasser Al-Attiyah who was the fastest in class, extending his lead in WRC2 to 49s. Esapekka Lappi brought his Skoda Fabia over the line second fastest in class, while Pontus Tidemand was third quickest in WRC2.
It was disaster for Jari Ketomaa though, who landed off-centre after the biggest jump of the stage, hitting the ditch, ripping off a wheel and sliding the car down the road on its side. It spelled the end of the event for Jari, though it did bring some excitement for the ever-growing crowd! Both drivers emerged from the car unscathed, though the stage was yellow flagged as a result of the crash.