Ogier edges ahead in WRC title fight as Fourmaux leads Rally Saudi Arabia

Sebastien Ogier (above) outpaced World Rally Championship title rival Elfyn Evans over Rally Saudi Arabia’s opening leg as Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux led the WRC season-closer after a rough and bruising opening day in the desert.

Heading into the all-new, Jeddah-based event, the ultra-consistent Evans led the standings on 272 points, with Ogier just three behind after winning on six of his 10 starts. Making it a three-way Toyota Gazoo Racing title fight, their teammate Kalle Rovanpera sat 21 points behind Ogier, with a maximum of 35 on offer this weekend.

Evans is guaranteed to land his first world championship if he drops no more than two points to Ogier in the Saudi Arabian finale. Ogier must outscore Evans by at least three – and with his six wins to Evans’ two, he’ll take his ninth WRC title if they end tied on points. Rovanpera needs a near-maximum haul and misfortune for both teammates to land his third title.

Thanks to his points lead, four-time WRC runner-up Evans was running first on the road in his GR Yaris Rally1 and had to fight poor grip all day as he swept loose sand and rocks for the field behind. A minor overshoot in the morning added to his deficit and he ended the day ninth, some 1m25.3s off the overall lead adrift after further time loss on the abrasive afternoon loop.

Ogier, starting second on the road, managed the conditions more effectively and avoided the issues that delayed several rivals. The Frenchman reached the overnight service in seventh and, with Evans struggling, moved into the provisional championship lead by a single point.

Rovanpera’s hopes of another title before taking a WRC sabbatical next year to go open-wheel racing in Japan’s Super Formula series narrowed further after two punctures restricted him to eighth overall, slotting him between Ogier and Evans at the day’s finish.

Evans will start fourth in the road order on Friday, with Ogier two places further back and directly behind Rovanpera, handing Ogier a small, but perhaps crucial advantage when it comes to road conditions.

“You can’t see it on the classification, but we’ve been doing a pretty good job today,” said Ogier. “My main target anyway is Elfyn and Kalle, and on that side we have done what we had to do – we are in front of them.”

Up at the sharp end, Fourmaux hit the front in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 after a bruising afternoon in which drama reshuffled the order on the second pass of the 7-mile Khulays stage. The Frenchman stayed clear of major issues across all of the day’s seven stages to end the leg 6.0s ahead of Toyota’s Sami Pajari, with early pacesetter Martins Sesks just 0.9s further back in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1.

Martins Sesks was leading after the morning loop, but a post-lunch puncture in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 dropped him to third. McKlein/Getty Images

The rally lead had changed hands several times through the day. Sesks dominated the morning loop with two stage wins and built a strong advantage before a right-rear puncture on the repeat of the 12.5-mile Moon Stage cost him more than 15s. Pajari then moved ahead after winning that same run through Moon Stage, only for a front-right delamination to drop him behind Fourmaux. But with the gaps so small, both Pajari and Sesks remain firmly in the fight for the win heading into Friday.

“I'm really pleased with the day,” Fourmaux said. “To be fair, I'm always thinking that we could push more and gain a bit more time, but it's always playing with the balance between pushing and saving the car and the tires, so I think we did it quite well. The gaps are small, so nothing is done for sure, but it's positive to finish the day like that – the road position is important here and I'm pleased to have a good road position for tomorrow."

As the battle for the WRC drivers’ title raged behind him, Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux kept things clean to build a small, but deserved overnight lead. Red Bull Content Pool

Ott Tanak, who also exits the WRC after this weekend, sits fourth overnight after winning the penultimate stage despite reporting possible suspension damage. His Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville is fifth after a day marked by a cracked windshield and a slow puncture, while Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta holds sixth following a cautious, tire-protecting approach.

M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster completed the top 10, ahead of a non-points scoring Oliver Solberg in the best of the WRC2-spec machinery, while Munster’s M-Sport Ford teammates Josh McErlean and Nasser Al-Attiyah were both delayed by tire deflations – the latter losing more than seven minutes when his jack became stuck.

Solberg, who’s already clinched the 2025 WRC2 title in a Printsport-run Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, was using his Saudi Arabian start to gain experience before moving up to Toyota’s factory Rally1 squad next season.

Behind him, Gus Greensmith made the strongest start of the drivers nominated for WRC2 points, building a clear overnight lead in international rallying’s second-tier class after a punishing opening leg that claimed several leading contenders.

Seventh fastest on Wednesday night’s short, all-asphalt Jameel Motorsport Super Special, Greensmith moved to the front in his Skoda Fabia RS as soon as the rally hit gravel. Two stage wins, backed by top-five pace everywhere else, carried him into Thursday evening with a 25.5s advantage over Kajetan Kajetanowicz in a GR Yaris Rally2.

Kajetanowicz, fastest on the super special, opted for measured risk on the rough desert gravel. Strong, steady runs through the abrasive Moon Stage and Khulays tests kept him well in touch, while Roope Korhonen holds third in another GR Yaris Rally2, albeit 27.0s behind Greensmith.

Skoda driver Gus Greensmith backed up his two Friday stage wins with top-five pace on every other test, building a handy WRC2 lead in the process. Red Bull Content Pool

Friday is the longest leg of the rally and features more than 88 competitive miles across six demanding desert stages.

WRC Rally Saudi Arabia, positions after Thursday/Leg One, SS8
1 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h18m45.3s
2 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +6.0s
3 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +6.9s 
4 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +13.7s
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +14.9s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +22.9s
7 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +44.2s
8 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m21.2s
9 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m25.3s
10 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m10.9s
 

• Watch the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage action from Rally Saudi Arabia LIVE on RACER Network and the RACER+ App on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 5am 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 Friday, Nov. 28 at 11.00pm ET.  

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