Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) was on his way to winning Rally Mexico for the seventh time, the third round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) season, after the retirement of Finn Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai) on Saturday.
The dirt roads of the Sierra de Guanajuato were the scene of seven of the nine stages of the third day.
Ogier took the lead of the race by winning the eleventh special during which Lappi was forced to retire after hitting a post on the side of the road.
The violent incident for the Finn, fortunately unscathed like his co-driver Janne Ferm, also led to the cancellation of the 15th special on this same section, due to lack of time to clear and prepare the road.
As a result, Lappi lost Friday's hopes of victory.
Read alsoMexico Rally: violent crash for leader Esapekka Lappi embedded in an electric pole
“
He was doing a good job, he was super fast yesterday, he had incredible speed.
It's a shame, the battle was magnificent
, ”said the eight-time world rally champion, who then adopted a more cautious driving style.
“
Controlling the speed here is not easy, the grip changes all the time
,” explained Ogier.
His attitude made it easier for Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) to win four stages.
Championship leader, Estonian Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford), well behind for the final victory since a mechanical problem on Friday, won the last two stages of the day.
In the general classification, Ogier is 35 seconds ahead of Briton Elfyn Evans (Toyota) and 40 seconds over Neuville.
Defending champion, Finland's Kalle Rovanperä is in 4th position at one minute 34 seconds.
If he maintains his lead until the end of Sunday, Ogier would win Rally Mexico for the seventh time and thus become the biggest winner in the history of the event, ahead of his compatriot Sébastien Loeb, who triumphed there at six times.
The Mexico Rally is made up of 23 stages for a total of 320.23 timed kilometres.
On Sunday, 61.37 kilometers will be covered in the last four stages, including the Power Stage.
. Classification of the Mexico Rally
1. Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (FRA/FRA) Toyota 2h35:37.6
2. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (GBR/GBR) Toyota at 35.8 seconds
3. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL/BEL) Hyundai 40.1
4. Kalle Rovanperä - Jonne Halttunen (FIN/FIN) Toyota 1:34.0
5. Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (ESP/ESP) Hyundai 2:21.2
Winners of the special stages:
Esapekka Lappi (SS3, SS5, SS6, SS8, SS9), Sébastien Ogier (SS4, SS7, SS11, SS16), Dani Sordo (SS10), Ott Tanak (SS1, SS2, SS18, SS19), Thierry Neuville (SS12, SS13, SS14, SS17)
NB: SS15 canceled
Main dropouts:
Esapekka Lappi (FIN/Hyundai), Pierre-Louis Loubet (FRA/Ford)
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