Le Rally of Croatia, fourth round of the 2026 season WRC, has been well underway since Thursday, April 9 with the Shakedown, marked by several interruptions due to the dangerous positioning of some spectators, which opened for the Rally1 class drivers and the invited Rally2 class drivers at 10:01.
Oliver Solberg set the fastest overall time on his first run with a 2:17.7, ahead of Takamoto Katsuta, the most recent WRC winner, who, as a reminder, took the stage on his third run, and Thierry NeuvilleElfyn Evans, in 2:18.9, is just behind this trio.
« That’s a very good start. rejoices the Swede. It was really the first time with this car on proper tarmac, so I’m very excited. I was a bit nervous this morning, for sure, but we set the fastest shakedown time of the day, so it’s a good start and a good feeling.
I’m getting used to the car, and then, of course, every day will be different. Friday is quite fast. Saturday is more typical of Croatia, with some pretty dirty and treacherous roads. And Sunday is flat out, a bit like being the first one down the mountain. It’s a real rally, and it’s going to be very exciting.
The starting order will be important because 90% of the time, the grip will probably be perfect and we can really push hard. But there are those 10% of times when the road will be much dirtier. In those conditions, you can’t overdo it. As is often the case in rallying, having a good road position will be very important. »
Interview by Pierre Barré, special correspondent in Croatia.
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