The second day of Repco Rally New Zealand has passed. Ott Tänak would lead the rally after a long, and chaotic second day.
SSS1, SSS Pukekawa Auckland Domain
Repco Rally New Zealand would start with a SuperSpecial Stage on day one. This would be the only timed stage on the first day, as well as the first of 17 stages. Ott Tänak would take the stage win, beating Craig Breen by 0.9 seconds to take the rally lead into day two. Thierry Neuville would finish the stage third, 0.7 seconds behind Breen. Takamoto Katsuta would finish 0.4 seconds behind Neuville. Elfyn Evans would finish 0.2 seconds behind Katsuta to round out the top five.
SS2, Whaanga Coast 1
SS2 would be the first of 16 gravel stages this weekend. As well as the first 29.27km of 158.56km on day two. Gus Greensmith would take the stage win beating Sebastian Ogier by 0.4 seconds. Craig Breen would come in third, 1.2 seconds behind Ogier. Ott Tänak would come in fourth, 4.2 seconds behind Breen. Thus promoting Breen into the rally lead. Elfyn Evans would round out the top five finishing 0.9 seconds behind Tänak.
SS3, Te Akua South 1
Stage three would see Elfyn Evans take the stage win, beating out Ott Tänak, Kalle Rovanperä and Craig Breen by 1.3 seconds. Tänak, Rovanperä and Breen would post the same times on SS3, making a three-way tie for second. Gus Greensmith would finish 6.3 seconds behind the trio to round out the top five. Greensmith and Tänak would swap places in the top five as Greensmith would fall to fourth as Tänak would take over second. Teammates Sebastian Ogier and Elfyn Evans would also switch places with Evans taking over third from Ogier who would fall to fifth.
SS4, Te Akua North 1
Stage four would see Ott Tänak take his second stage win of the rally. As well as see Tänak regain the rally lead. Kalle Rovanperä would finish 0.7 seconds behind Tänak. Elfyn Evans would finish 0.1 seconds behind Rovanperä. Sebastian Ogier would finish 1.7 seconds behind Evans. Gus Greensmith would round out the top five finishing 3.1 seconds behind Ogier. The top five would remain the same besides Tänak taking first overall from Craig Breen who falls to second.
SS5, Whaanga Coast 2
Stage five would see Sebastian Ogier take his first stage win of the rally. Beating Elfyn Evans by 8.4 seconds. Gus Greensmith would finish third 5.8 seconds behind Evans. Oliver Solberg would finish fourth overall, one second behind Greensmith. Thierry Neuville would round out the top five, finishing one second behind Solberg. With a stage win, Sebastian Ogier would move from fifth to first overall. Evans would take second overall from Craig Breen who would fall out of the top five after going off the road on SS5. Tänak would fall to third overall. Gus Greensmith would remain fourth. Kalle Rovanperä would round out the top five.
SS6, Te Akua South 2
Stage six would see Kalle Rovanperä take the stage win. Finishing 5.6 seconds ahead of Tänak. Ogier would take third on the stage finishing 0.9 seconds behind Tänak. Thierry Neuville would finish 2.2 seconds behind Ogier for fourth on the stage. Elfyn Evans would round out the top five finishing 2.1 seconds behind Neuville. Kalle Rovanperä and Gus Greensmith would swap places as Rovanperä would take fourth overall from Greensmith who fell to fifth.
SS7, Te Akua North 2
Stage seven would see Ott Tänak take his third stage win. As well as regain the rally lead to end the second day. Elfyn Evans would finish second on the stage 1.2 seconds behind Tänak. Kalle Rovanperä would take third, finishing 0.9 seconds behind Evans. Thierry Neuville would take fourth, finishing 0.5 seconds behind Rovanperä. Oliver Solberg would round out the top five, finishing the stage 6.3 seconds behind Neuville. Sebastian Ogier would fall to third overall after finishing the stage seventh overall, 13.3 seconds behind Tänak.
Breen’s Out
Craig Breen would retire from Repco Rally New Zealand after going off the road on SS5. Breen was set to restart the rally until damage to the clutch forced his retirement. Breen may rejoin on day three.
A Battle Till The End
The second day of Repco Rally New Zealand kept everybody on their feet. With multiple drivers winning the stages. All normal things in rally, right? Well yes, but the second day of New Zealand offered a unique challenge. As the day saw 158.56 kilometres of stages, with no services throughout the day. Thus meaning any significant damage to the car, or damage built up over time could be fatal. This forced drivers to be as close to perfect as possible.
A Look Ahead To Day Three
Day Three of Repco Rally New Zealand will be shorter than day two, with only 88.28 kilometres of stages. It will also feature a midday service, meaning there is a bit more room for error among drivers. The back-and-forth battle between drivers will likely continue, with multiple drivers moving up and down the top five, along with multiple taking stage wins.
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
