Ogier crashes at CE Rally after puncture, Rovanperä leads

Sébastien Ogier crashed out of the Central European Rally on Saturday morning after a slow front left puncture that went undetected by his tyre-pressure system, handing Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanperä a commanding lead heading into Sunday’s final day. The incident occurred on stage 10, Keply, a 21.95km test run in wet, leaf-covered conditions; Ogier ran wide at a high-speed right-hander, his GR Yaris struck a tree and lost a front wheel. Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais were unhurt.

Ogier later said the puncture coincided with a failure of the car’s tyre-pressure sensor, leaving him unaware of the problem until the car would not turn into the corner. "Unfortunately we had a puncture on the front left and unfortunately at the same time my sensor was not working, so I didn't get the info about this puncture," he said. "At the end there is nothing I could have done." Team mechanics repaired Ogier’s car and he is expected to restart under rally rules on Sunday to contest the Super Sunday stages and the powerstage for bonus points.

Rovanperä, who had been chasing Ogier in a close battle through the opening legs, capitalised on the retirement to open up a multi‑minute advantage...