DRIVER ANALYSIS
SEBASTIEN OGIER CITROEN C3WRC
Totally 10 for backing himself and delivering on medium Michelins first time through Yesilbelde. Controlled the second half of the rally beautifully to play himself firmly back into contention for a seventh-straight title.
PONTUS TIDEMAND FORD FIESTAWRC
This was never going to be the easiest of rides for the Swede and running first on the road through Saturday didn’t really help to level a pretty steep learning curve. Brought the car home and built plenty of experience. DANI SORDO
HYUNDAI i20 WRC
The Spaniard’s Sardinian summer win showed what he’s capable of on rough gravel and his fifth place here – holding off a brace of Toyotas – was enormously valuable to Hyundai’s manufacturer championship aspirations.
ANDREAS MIKKELSEN HYUNDAI i20 WRC
The Norwegian’s gravel resurgence continues with another strong result. His only minor hiccup came in the SS8 dust when he parked the i20 unreasonably close to a tree. He got away with it and took a deserved podium.
OTTTANAK TOYOTA YARIS WRC
Remember the score’s for the car/driver combo… Deserved far more reward than an uncompetitive Yaris afforded him. Brilliant and ballsy powerstage effort ensured he departed Turkey with maximum bonus points.
GUS GREENSMITH FORD FIESTA R5 MKII
Having done much of the development work on M-sport’s Ford Fiesta R5 MKII, Greensmith was eager to stick some numbers on the doors and give it a go. A WRC 2 Pro win was just what the team needed (minus the bent panels from an SS16 roll!).
ESAPEKKA LAPPI CITROEN C3 WRC
Favourable position on the road or not, whoever emerged at the top of the timesheets on
Friday had earned it. Lappi continued that exceptional work into the weekend to deliver a second runners-up spot in three starts.
TEEMU SUNINEN FORD FIESTA WRC
Great drive from the Finn, the only downside being the odd rearrangement of aero parts at either end of the Fiesta. Chased Mikkelsen for third into Sunday, but his charge was stymied when he lost the rear diffuser.
THIERRY NEUVILLE HYUNDAI i20 WRC
Talked the talk before the start, but lost his way in the dust on Saturday morning and paid a high price for what looked to be a fairly innocuous mistake. Turkey did for his title hopes 12 months ago, has it done the same this time?
JARI-MATTI LATVALA TOYOTA YARIS WRC
Misheard a note in SS5 (the rear bumper had come off, allowing more engine noise into the car), cut a corner and punctured. Thereafter played the team game and brought a Yaris lacking the ultimate pace home in one piece.
KRIS MEEKE TOYOTA YARIS WRC
Meeke backed up a fine Germany result with a textbook drive in Turkey – which included a high-pressure Friday afternoon after a rock squashed a jacking point on the car and prevented him from changing a potential puncture.
KAJTO KAJETANOWICZ SKODA FABIA R5
Admittedly, the WRC 2 competition wasn’t stacked up on this one, but he still delivered a lights-to-flag win on what was undoubtedly the toughest test of the season for the R5 cars.