News and quotes SS 5 (Col de Jan 1)

The Col de Jan stage proved to be exactly what most drivers had predicted: devilishly difficult. This time, Kalle Rovanperä was best able to keep up with Sébastien Ogier's pace, but still lost 3.9 seconds to the Frenchman. Most of the pursuers lost a lot of time on the increasingly slippery track. Ott Tänak, in third place, lost 22.7 seconds, and the competitors behind him lost even more time. Thierry Neuville was particularly unlucky, losing 1:25.6 minutes due to a puncture. Grégoire Munster even had to abandon his Ford on the track after his suspension crumbled on the same jump where Neuville had destroyed his tyre. He then rolled off the special stage.

#17 Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Vincent Landais (FRA), Toyota GR Yaris Rally

"It's really challenging to drive here, and it's really difficult to drive at the limit everywhere. I had a little slippery moment, but in these conditions that's completely okay."

#33 Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

"I didn't think I would lose so much time. A great performance from Sebastien. I lost the first six seconds in the first few kilometres."

#69 Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

"Very difficult – as expected. It gets even more difficult after every car. I lost time at the start because I was too cautious in the forest. I couldn't make up for that on the clean asphalt. But it was a good run through the stage."

#8 Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST), Hyundai i20 N Rally1

“Nothing happened. The car feels very stiff in the forest and too soft on the asphalt.”

#1 Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL), Hyundai i20 N Rally1

"We have a flat tyre on the rear right. After the jump, we landed too far to the right. Something destroyed the tyre. But I couldn't feel anything. It wasn't a nice stage. The anti-cuts were moved and there were a few surprises. I lost a lot of time there."

#16 Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) / Alexandre Coria (FRA), Hyundai i20 N Rally1

“Everyone is shovelling mud onto the track. During the recce, I was able to drive at full throttle in various places, but that wasn't possible now. I had trouble keeping the car on the track. The starting position makes a big difference. We can't change much for the second run.”