Esapekka Lappi won Thursday night’s super special and began the next day with a 0.2-second lead over Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. However, Lappi fell 16.3 seconds behind Ogier after implementing a hard tyre-focused strategy in the morning’s 49.9km Monte Lerno test. Lappi adopted a more daring approach in the afternoon, opting for soft tyres that worked well in the wetter conditions. In addition to his tyre selection, Lappi’s suspension set-up choice allowed him to overtake Ogier and lead by 0.1 seconds at the end of the day, despite suffering a left-rear puncture during the second pass of Monte Lerno.
When asked if he felt his set-up gamble was paying off, Lappi said that it was working well, particularly when things got rough. He said that he didn’t know where he pulled the time on the short stage, but it wasn’t due to reckless driving. According to Lappi, the damper is genuinely working. Lappi also described the Monte Lerno stage as quite tricky, with 80% of the stage having decent grip, but the remaining 20% having full mud.
Hyundai team principal praises Lappi’s driving and set-up
Cyril Abiteboul, Hyundai team principal, praised Lappi for his driving performance and his desire to push the team on set-up. He stated that it doesn’t matter what the lead is, but it’s great to be finishing in a leading position. Abiteboul also commended Lappi for driving extremely well and pushing his engineers to set up the car while taking some risks on the tyre side.
Abiteboul said that they are yet to win a rally this season, but they are staying positive and realistic. The team has a big decision to make on tyre strategy as they have limited information on the weather. Abiteboul believes that it will be a bit more wet than today, and soft tyres will be a popular choice.
Thierry Neuville in the fight for victory, Dani Sordo recovers
Hyundai’s primary championship contender Thierry Neuville ended the day in the fight for victory, trailing the lead by 18.6 seconds in third place. Neuville lost time in the afternoon due to an intermittent handbrake issue that will be resolved for Saturday.
The team’s third entry, driven by Dani Sordo, recovered to 12th place overall after losing three minutes to a slow roll during stage four that caused significant damage to the i20 N. Sordo and co-driver Candido Carrera skipped lunch to pitch in with the Hyundai mechanics to repair the car ahead of the afternoon loop. Abiteboul praised the mechanics and the drivers for helping, stating that they are limited in terms of who can touch the car, so any assistance is welcome. Sordo helped to fix the front screen, which Abiteboul found remarkable. Although Sordo is far away from the podium finish, Abiteboul believes that it’s a long weekend and anything could happen.
Esapekka Lappi took a significant lead on day two of Rally Italy with a bold tyre strategy, opting for soft tyres that worked well in wetter conditions. Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul praised Lappi for his driving performance and his desire to push the team on set-up. Thierry Neuville is in the fight for victory, and Dani Sordo recovered after a slow roll that caused significant damage to the car. It’s a long weekend, and anything could happen.
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