Crucially that lifted Sébastien Ogier up to sixth, so while Elfyn Evans moved ahead of Grégoire Munster into ninth, Ogier’s current net point gain stands at six points, putting him provisionally three points ahead.
As for Fourmaux, he was distracted in the dust of Pajari who’d been stationary for 1m50s, and misjudged a junction. He dropped 24.0s to Sesks, meaning he now trails by 22.1s overall.
“I was in the dust of Sami and I did not see there is a right junction. I was looking at the corner and then I went straight, so… I did not see, it was full of dust. We lose a lot of time. We will try [to get time back] because it’s not fair,” said Fourmaux.
Explaining his puncture, Pajari added: “I was fifth gear flat out and I don’t know, some rocks, tire went flat, so there was no chance to drive on it.”
Sesks won the stage by 8.0s over Thierry Neuville, who’s now up to third overall.
“This one was very tricky,” Sesks said. “Again there were places it looks like you can push but you cannot, but I think we tried. This rally – it’s crazy. Either you are lucky or… still a long way to go.”
