He held the lead all day Friday, and by the end of the second special stage on Saturday, his gap to the closest pursuer, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT’s Elfyn Evans, was 10.8 seconds. However, on the next competitive stage, Thierry couldn’t hold the rear of his Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 and crashed into the trees. With severe suspension damage, the driver could not return to the track, ultimately relinquishing the lead and his chances of victory.
Thus, the top three positions were taken by the drivers:
- Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT)
- Ott Tanak (M-Sport Ford World Rally Team)
- Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team)
However, despite a Toyota driver taking the win, as he was not one of the team’s two nominated drivers, Toyota Gazoo Racing failed to pick up Constructors’ points from Evans’ effort, relying instead on fourth and fifth place finishes from Ogier and Rovanpera.