Thierry Neuville stormed into the Croatia Rally lead on Saturday after a devastating afternoon loop ripped the rally from Sami Pajari’s grasp and left the Belgian heading into the final day with a commanding advantage.
Neuville had started Saturday 13.7 seconds behind the Toyota Gazoo Racing youngster. He ended it with a 1 minute 14.5 second cushion over Takamoto Katsuta after chaos erupted on the second pass through Generalski Stol-Zdihovo. Pajari, who had controlled proceedings since Friday morning, dropped to third after being forced to stop and change a wheel, reaching the overnight halt 1 minute 46.4 seconds off the lead.
Morning was all about management
The day had begun with Pajari still firmly in command. The Finn coped well with leaf-covered roads, heavy road contamination and wildly inconsistent grip through the morning loop, keeping Neuville and Katsuta at bay. Katsuta briefly grabbed second overall on SS10, but Neuville hit back on the new Generalski Stol test to reclaim the position.
At the midday service halt, Pajari still led by 12.4 seconds from Neuville, with Katsuta a further 12.7 seconds back in third. Hayden Paddon held a strong fourth on his Croatia Rally debut, while Adrien Fourmaux’s difficult weekend took another turn for the worse when he crashed out on SS12 after running wide and damaging the left-rear of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1.
Jon Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne in action during Friday’s opening leg of Croatia Rally in Rijeka, where the Northern Irishman showed strong pace before suffering his own tyre trouble on Saturday’s brutal afternoon loop.
Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Afternoon carnage
If the morning had been about management, the afternoon became a survival test. Running on roads that had deteriorated to resemble a gravel event, tyre dramas swept through the leaderboard. Jon Armstrong stopped to change a wheel. Paddon picked up a front-left deflation and nursed it without stopping. Katsuta suffered likewise. But the biggest blow landed on Pajari’s Toyota, the Finn haemorrhaging more than two minutes and handing the lead directly to Neuville.
“It just clicks this weekend,” Neuville said. “The car was from the beginning feeling better than the other rallies. We were able to build step-by-step and improve it in the beginning of the event. The conditions are very challenging and we were somehow able to go with good speed.”
Katsuta’s second place owed much to composure under pressure.
“A bit of a shame because we were trying to manage it,” Katsuta said. “It was a proper lottery. Even on gravel rallies we don’t have that many stones.”
Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston kept their composure through Saturday’s chaotic afternoon loop to hold second overall at Croatia Rally in Rijeka, 1 minute 14.5 seconds behind Thierry Neuville heading into the final day.
Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Solberg and Evans impress despite being out of contention
Restarting after his Friday retirement, Oliver Solberg dominated the morning loop, winning every stage from SS9 to SS12 before a puncture halted his run on SS13. Elfyn Evans, also out of the overall fight after his own Friday crash, claimed a stage win on SS16. Armstrong continued to impress with a string of competitive times despite his own wheel drama, while team-mate Josh McErlean endured a torrid day that included a cockpit fire, repeated punctures and electrical problems.
Paddon, having nursed his puncture without stopping, kept out of serious trouble amid the carnage to consolidate fourth overall, 3 minutes 28.2 seconds off the lead on his Croatia Rally debut. In WRC2, Yohan Rossel completed Saturday in fifth overall and maintained his lead in the class standings.
Gill and co-driver Daniel Brkic continued to build their Croatia Rally experience through Saturday’s stages. A specific overnight position for the Australian pair was unavailable at time of publication — check wrc.com for the latest classification.
Four stages covering just under 60 competitive kilometres stand between Neuville and what would be his first WRC victory of the 2026 season.
Standings after Saturday (SS16/20)
1. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N Rally1 — 2h 20m 20.8s
2. T Katsuta / A Johnston JPN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 — +1m 14.5s
3. S Pajari / M Salminen FIN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 — +1m 46.4s
4. H Paddon / J Kennard NZL Hyundai i20 N Rally1 — +3m 28.2s
5. Y Rossel / A Dunand FRA Lancia Ypsilon HF Rally2 — +5m 14.1s
6. L Rossel / G Mercoiret FRA Citroen C3 Rally2 — +6m 17.3s
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