Ogier charges to the lead on wet, then dry WRC Rally Chile Saturday

Sebastien Ogier ended Rally Chile's penultimate leg with a 6.3s lead over Elfyn Evans after a remarkable Saturday that saw dramatic swings in fortune for the Toyota teammates and FIA World Rally Championship title contenders.

Eight-time WRC champ Ogier mounted a stunning comeback from his Friday struggles to take control on his 200th WRC start, winning all three of the afternoon’s stages to overhaul current points leader Evans and position himself for what could be a crucial victory.

The Frenchman, who is currently nine points adrift of Evans in his bid for a ninth world title, admitted to being "way too cautious" on the day’s opening stage but capitalized perfectly on changing conditions and tire management to emerge as the day's dominant force.

“It sounds good, but it is going to be intense until the end,” said Ogier after extending his lead from 1.0s to a slightly more comfortable 6.3s on the day's final stage. “Tomorrow morning I need to be awake, not like every first stage for the last two days."

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans (above) led after the wet morning stages, but couldn’t match teammate Sebastien Ogier’s afternoon pace. Red Bull Content Pool

Evans was leading at the midday service break after a strong morning loop in wet conditions, but found himself under increasing pressure as his fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 pilot Ogier found his rhythm on the drying afternoon stages. The Welshman dropped 5.3s on the day's final test alone, but remains firmly in contention for the win heading into Sunday's four-stage finale.

Adrien Fourmaux started the day at the top of the leaderboard, but ended it in third overall and 26.8s adrift of Ogier. The Frenchman reported that he was struggling for traction and acknowledged his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 was “lacking something” in the conditions. His teammate, reigning WRC champ Thierry Neuville, sits fourth, a further 14.9s back.

“It is quite frustrating for us,” said Fourmaux. “The positive is we are on the podium for tonight, but we want more.”

Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux (above) saw his overnight lead shrink then disappear as the Toyotas put on a charge. Getty Images

Sami Pajari held fifth in his GR Yaris, while championship contender Kalle Rovanpera languished in sixth in another factory Toyota, more than 1m20s behind the leader. Rovanpera, a two-time WRC champ and the defending Rally Chile winner, endured a torrid afternoon as running first car on the road proved costly on the cleaning stages.

Takamoto Katsuta in the fifth and final factory Toyota recovered to seventh position after spinning while attempting to make up a place on M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster, who dropped to eighth in his Puma Rally1 following a puncture that forced him to complete the days final stage on worn-out tires. 

Gregoire Munster, sole remaining M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 driver, holds eighth after late tire issues. Red Bull Content Pool

 In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg has one hand on the class championship after extending his lead to 30.2s over Nikolay Gryazin through Saturday’s six stages.

The Swede managed the changing conditions on Saturday with aplomb, collecting four stage wins in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and tripling his advantage, despite admitting to cautious driving as he balanced championship permutations with competitive instincts. 

With Solberg’s nearest title contenders Yohan Rossel and Gus Greensmith both sidelined by mechanical failures on Friday, Skoda Fabia RS driver Gryazin is the only driver who can now prevent Solberg’s championship celebrations this week – but he must win the rally in order to do so. 

“I saved the tires on the previous one,” said Solberg after Saturday's final stage, “so I tried to have a bit of a go in here without too much risk of course as I still want to keep the gap.”

Oliver Solberg is within touching distance of the WRC2 title after another productive day in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Red Bull Content Pool

Sunday’s closing leg consists of four stages, including the rally-closing, bonus points-paying BioBio 2 test, and 34 competitive miles. It’s a short, sharp ending to Rally Chile, but as Saturday showed, that’s plenty long enough for more plot twists as Ogier and Evans duel for the win,    

WRC Rally Chile, positions after Saturday/Leg Two, SS12
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h23m13.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +6.3s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +26.8s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +41.7s
5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +50.4s
6 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m23.2s
7 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m54.3s
8 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m00.4s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 leader) +6m12.7s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +6m42.9s

• Watch the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage action from Rally Chile LIVE on the RACER+ App and RACER Network on Sunday, Sept. 14, noon-1:30 p.m. ET. 

Plus, for a deeper dive into the FIA World Rally Championship, check out the WRC Magazine Show on RACER Network. Catch the latest episode on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 4:30 a.m. ET.  

You can find out more about the RACER+ App at racerplus.com.