SS5 FLASH

Date: 26/6/2026

Day: 2

Flash N°: 7

Special stage: Elikon Mt. 

 Distance: 17.80 km

Weather: Sunny, 26°C

Road conditions: Smooth, loose gravel

 

#33 Elfyn EVANS - Scott MARTIN

“Very similar to the other stages. Not so rough. But it’s not easy to get a good feeling in such loose surface.”

#18 Takamoto KATSUTA - Aaron JOHNSTON

“One line is a big help. Imagine how difficult it is for Elfyn. ”

#99 Oliver SOLBERG - Elliott EDMONDSON

“I have the same approach all day. I try not to get a puncture. There is always a rock somewhere. I try to avoid punctures and survive the whole loop.”

#5 Sami PAJARI - Marko SALMINEN

“There was a stone on the line and I couldn’t avoid it. And we had a puncture.” Stopped and change a tyre

#1 Sébastien OGIER - Vincent LANDAIS

“It’s not so much watching the others. We are focusing on ourselves. I try to be as much careful as I can at the rough section.”

#16 Adrien FOURMAUX - Alexandre CORIA

“It was a very rough stage. I took it very easy.”

#11 Thierry NEUVILLE - Martijn WYDAEGHE

“I didn’t want to be hard on the tyres. I lost a bit of confidence in the last part. But we are not pushing, we try to be gentle with the car and the tyres. We took six hard tyres.”

#95 Jon ARMSTRONG - Shane BYRNE

“I felt I was a little bit careful. We concentrate on driving in the clean lines. We hit a rock at the start of the stage and we were scared, and also we saw that Sami (Pajari) had puncture.”

#6 Daniel SORDO - Cándido CARRERA

“We need to keep pushing. It’s very hard, there is no grip at all. Braking is OK, but lateral grip is nothing. Not fun to drive, but this is what it is.”

#55 Joshua MCERLEAN - Eoin TREACY

“Good job to Jon (Armstrong)!”

#22 Mārtiņš SESKS - Renārs FRANCIS

“That’s good for the team! I was trying to save the tyres, but I was a bit too cautious.”

#9 Jourdan SERDERIDIS - Frédéric MICLOTTE

“We lost the power steering 5 km before the end. And we have two more stages to go. It’s going to be very difficult.”

 

COMMENTS

Jon Armstrong with M-Sport’s Ford Puma Rally1 sets the fastest time! This is his first stage win in WRC and he manages to increase his lead from Adrien Fourmaux in the battle for 3rd. Thierry Neuville is still leading the Rally, but now Sebastien Ogier is just 9,3 seconds behind him. 


For high-resolution photographs click here