The second stage of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal started in dramatic fashion for the previous overall and WRC2 leaders: Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) crashed in Montim 1 and Oliver Solberg (Skoda) overturned two corners later. Sébastien Ogier (Hyundai) and Ott Tänak (Hyundai) take the lead and go into the afternoon section separated by 13.6s.
The first four qualifiers held in the North region were full of reasons for interest. The rally leader, Kalle Rovanperä, opened the day with the best time in Felgueiras, but crashed in the next section, in Montim, leaving him out of this Saturday’s stage. A few minutes later, WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg passed Rovanperä’s car and overturned two corners later, also leaving the race.
The first pass through the longest stage of the race, Amarante (37.24 km), also left out the then third overall, Takamoto Katsuta, with the rear suspension of his Toyota broken. With these developments, Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tänak were involved in an intense duel, with both finishing the morning section separated by 0.2s, after 184.58 timed kilometres!
However, a strong attack from Ogier in Paredes and a puncture from Tänak left the top two separated by 13.6s, although everything is open for the tough section of the afternoon. The Hyundais of Thierry Neuville – who made two mistakes on the Montim stage – and Dani Sordo are just behind overall, separated by just 3.6s. Adrien Fourmaux (Ford) and Elfyn Evans (Toyota) follow, with the Welshman trying to limit the occasional losses to his great opponent in the fight for the title, Neuville.
In WRC2, Solberg’s withdrawal left Yohan Rossel (Citroën) in front, but the Frenchman suffered a puncture in Paredes and dropped to second, 1m15.4s behind the new commander, Gus Greensmith (Skoda).
What the pilots said after SS13 (Walls 1)
Sébastien Ogier: “I attacked hard. It hasn’t been easy for us since the start of the rally and the afternoon section will be hot and tough, as usual. We will see.”
Ott Tänak: “We got stuck about 8 kilometres from the end. We must have lost about 20 seconds.”
Thierry Neuville: “This last stage was very treacherous. The car has some damage, but there wasn’t much grip on the section either. Lots of surprises.”
Dani Sordo: “Very slippery. We are also cleaning the sections. The afternoon will be demanding.”
Adrien Fourmaux: “This morning Sordo wasn’t that fast, my plan was to attack his position. We lost a lot of time in Amarante, but we are still fighting.”
No WRC2, a desistência de Solberg deixou Yohan Rossel (Citroën) na frente, mas o francês sofreu um furo em Paredes e desceu a segundo, a 1m15,4s do novo comandante, Gus Greensmith (Skoda).
Afternoon program
13:30 Departure from Matosinhos (Exponor)
14:35 SS14 Felgueiras 2 (8.81 km)
15:35 SS15 Montim 2 (8.69 km)
16:35 SS16 Amarante 2 (37.24 km)
18:05 SS17 Paredes 2 (16.09 km)
19:05 SS18 Lousada (3.36 km)
20:05 Arrival at the assistance area in Matosinhos (Exponor)
Leaders of the Vodafone Rally of Portugal
SS1-SS2 Thierry Neuville
SS3-SS5 Takamoto Katsuta
SS6-SS10 Kalle Rovanperä
SS11 Sébastien Ogier
SS12 Ott Tänak
SS13 Sébastien Ogier
Qualifier winners
SS1 Thierry Neuville
SS2 Thierry Neuville
SS3 Dani Sordo
SS4 Dani Sordo
SS5 Thierry Neuville
SS6 Sébastien Ogier
SS7 Dani Sordo
SS8 Kalle Rovanperä
SS9 Sébastien Ogier
SS10 Kalle Rovanperä
SS11 Sébastien Ogier
SS12 Ott Tänak
SS13 Sébastien Ogier
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