William Creighton and Diego Dominguez traded places numerous times on Saturday of Rally Italia as Laurent Pellier had a day of mixed fortunes.
Pellier dominated the morning loop of stages, taking three stage wins from four stages and Creighton was the only other driver to notch a fastest time next to his name.
The morning loop was relatively subdued compared to the afternoon with the only notable moment coming via Raul Hernandez who retired for the day, damaging his suspension after hitting a rock on the final stage of the loop.
The afternoon cooked up a storm, literally, as rain drenched the already challenging stages and promised to add yet another dimension in the fight for the lead. Stage 12 saw Dominguez take a ten second chunk out of Creighton’s lead on his way to a stage win but it was stage 13 where Creighton’s fortunes took a huge turn.
The Irishman was forced to stop and change a puncture, losing a minute to Dominguez as Laurent Pellier closed to within two minutes of the leader after starting the day five minutes adrift.
On the back foot and in difficult wet conditions, Creighton launched a charge through stage 14, going faster than Dominguez by almost a minute to retake the lead! In the same stage Pellier was making yet more progress, 45 seconds up on Dominguez with seven kilometres to go in the stage until the Frenchman’s hard work came undone, sliding off the road. It was heart break for Belgian Tom Rensonnet on the same stage too sliding off the road in similar fashion to Pellier.
Back out in front, Creighton stretched his legs on the 15th stage of the rally, decimating the competition to take his fourth stage win of the rally and deliver an overnight lead of two minutes and 18 seconds over second placed Dominguez. Following the barrage of tough conditions, Roberto Blach ended the day in third with Eamonn Kelly fourth after a string of top two times in the afternoon.
Maciek Woda, FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, said: “It’s been a really awesome day with exciting lead changes and very unpredictable conditions that have really challenged the crews. William and Diego have staged a great battle for the lead with some big swings in the lead. Laurent stage a really great fightback and I think he had a genuine shot of challenged for the lead by the end of the day but it looks like he got caught out by the rough stage conditions this afternoon. This rally is by no means over and there are still 45 kilometres of unpredictable action left to go!”
William Creighton FIA Junior WRC rally leader, said: “These have been some of the toughest conditions me and Liam have faced together, but we got through with a lot of ups and downs throughout the day. I just tried to keep going through punctures and wet conditions and the mud. We finished the day and in the position we want but it’s another big day tomorrow.”
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