The eight-time World Rally Championship title winner had been locked in a combat with Lappi all through Friday, and confronted a 5.3s deficit to the Finn heading into Saturday.
Nevertheless, Lappi’s exit on the morning’s first take a look at, stage 11, promoted Ogier to the lead, which he took into Saturday’s noon service.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans trailed his part-time team-mate Ogier by 28.5s, with an impressed Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville solely 8.7s behind the Welshman after scoring three stage wins.
World champion Kalle Rovanpera continued to battle with highway cleansing however ended the loop in fourth, 1m13.8s again, forward of Hyundai’s Dani Sordo, who was 1m56.9s off the general lead.
Former WRC driver Gus Greensmith led the WRC2 class to sit down sixth general in his first WRC occasion of the 2023 season. The WRC2 area solely accomplished one stage after phases 11-13 had been cancelled for the second tier following Lappi’s crash.
M-Sport duo Pierre-Louis Loubet and Jourdan Serderidis rejoined the motion together with Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta after crashing out on Friday.
The battle for the lead was turned on its head in stage 11. Lappi had discovered himself 2.3s down on Ogier on the first break up earlier than his run, which had been ragged at factors, which got here to an abrupt finish.
Lappi lost control of the i20 N and nosed into an embankment which fired the automobile rearwards right into a telegraph pole inflicting vital harm to the entrance and rear of the automobile. Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm had been unscathed however needed to act rapidly to extinguish a small fireplace that broke out on the entrance of the automobile, whereas the damaged telegraph pole rested on the roof of the automobile.
Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai World Rally Workforce Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Picture by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport
Officers rapidly red-flagged the stage to permit for the wrecked i20 N to be cleared, whereas WRC2 runner Greensmith and co-driver Jonas Andersson, who had been first to reach on the scene of the accident, helped extinguish the hearth.
The accident undid all of Lappi’s exhausting work in build up a lead throughout Friday, which the Finn labelled among the best drives of his WRC career.
With Lappi the final Rally1 automobile into the stage, Ogier emerged because the stage winner, because the Frenchman moved right into a 26.6s lead over team-mate Evans.
“I all the time benefit from the combat and yesterday he was actually having wonderful velocity, so it is a huge disgrace,” mentioned Ogier.
Evans was second quickest on the stage which helped the Welshman prolong the hole over third-placed Neuville to 11.6s, whereas Rovanpera climbed to fourth comfortably forward of Sordo.
Tanak managed to finish the take a look at with out affected by the problems that hampered his progress on Friday, however the Estonian was nonetheless preventing his M-Sport Ford Puma.
“Yesterday afternoon’s concern appears to be fastened, however I am unable to drive the automobile quick in the intervening time,” mentioned Tanak. “It isn’t working for me and I’m actually struggling, however okay, we are going to attempt to study.”
Neuville emerged as the driving force to beat on stage 12 because the Hyundai driver narrowly edged Evans to win the 22.56km blast by way of El Mosquito.
Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, M-Sport Ford World Rally Workforce Ford Puma Rally1
Picture by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
The Belgian reached the stage finish 0.7s sooner than Evans, to extend the strain on the Toyota driver within the combat for second general.
With Lappi out of the rally, Ogier didn’t have to push however nonetheless ended the take a look at only one.4s adrift with the third quickest time, 5.3s faster than Rovanpera.
Neuville constructed on his stage 12 success by successful stage 13, a run by way of the 21.7km Derramadero.
“The goal is to go as quick as attainable however now we have to be intelligent as effectively – we have to hold the automobile on the highway. I attempted to handle the velocity in right here but it surely’s not straightforward,” mentioned Neuville.
Extremely, half a second break up the highest three automobiles on the stage finish as Neuville pipped a measured Ogier by 0.1s, whereas Evans was fourth tenths additional again.
“I’m much more in secure mode with my driving now. It isn’t an enormous hole, however we try to keep away from each rock and being as secure as we are able to,” mentioned Ogier.
Neuville scored a hat-trick of stage wins after setting the quickest time on stage 14, the three.7km Las Dunas superspecial, to take 1.7s out of Evans within the combat for second.