Powerstage drama for the win of Croatia

Takamoto Katsuta managed to win his second rally in a row after drama on the powerstage where Thierry Neuville crashed out. Katsuta now leads the WRC overall. Photo: Christian Flodin / FotoINorr

Going into sunday, Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville had the lead with over a minute to spare to second place Takamoto Katsuta. The two drivers were quite equal on the first three stages of the day, with less than a second difference between the drivers on the sunday stages. It seemed like Neuville had the win, but on the powerstage, he made a mistake that cost him everything when he hit a concrete block and crashed out, damaging his suspension enough to not being able to finish of the rally. Neuville managed to get his car over the finish line twenty minutes later, but retired on the road section after.
For Katsuta, this was his second ever win, and also his second win in a row. With two wins of four rounds, Katsuta is now the overall leader, with 81 points. Toyota teammate Elfvyn Evans is on second position with 74 points, followed by another Toyota driver, Oliver Solberg on 68 points. Solberg, who crashed out only 5km into the first stage won 10/20 stages during the weekend, despite missing 8 stages due to his crash.
On third place of the overall in the Croatian rally was a known face for many, Hayden Paddon. The Hyundai driver made it to the WRC podium for the first time since Australia 2018.
Speaking of long time absent podiums. In WRC2 Yohan Rossel proved to be the strongest driver of the weekend. This was the first top five in WRC round since 1994 for manufacturer Lancia. The manufacturer has been absent several years, and this was the first win for the new Lancia Ypsilon HF. Second place went to Yohan Rossels brother, Leo Rossel, in a Citroen C3. Third place also went to Lancia, with Nikolay Gryazin claiming the spot. The three WRC2 drivers managed to finish fourth, fifth and sixth overall.

Written by: Christian Flodin