Toyota driver Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais were locked in a three-way fight with title contenders Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville before an incident-filled stage 18 ultimately decided the rally in the eight-time world champion’s favour.
Ogier took the victory, claiming his 100th career WRC podium in the process, by 9.7s from Evans, with Neuville third, 45.8s adrift.
Neuville and Evans couldn’t be split at the end of Friday on overall times. But Evans started the final day with a slender 4.9s lead before the leaderboard was turned on its head during stage 18 as both hit trouble.
The WRC’s radical points structure was again brought back into the spotlight after Hyundai’s Ott Tanak benefitted from the system to claim 20 points, one less than winner Ogier and one more than Evans/Neuville after finishing fourth overall.
Tanak had been fighting with M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux for fourth across the balance of the rally until Fourmaux made a small error on Sunday, which he atoned for by winning the Power Stage.
In the latest edition of Gravel Notes, Autosport’s WRC reporter Tom Howard is joined by rally journalist Luke Barry to dissect all the key talking points from Croatia. The pair also select their stars, unsung heroes and best quotes from the rally.
