Hyundai responded to Elfyn Evans’ (Toyota) opening victory with absolute dominance in the gravel stages held on Friday morning in the Central region.
Ott Tänak leads the race by a mere 0.2s ahead of his teammate Adrien Fourmaux in a rally that has seen three different winners in five stages. Toyota promises to fight back in a battle that promises to be very exciting until Sunday.
Ott Tänak won the first two stages of the day (Mortágua 1 and Lousã 1), while Adrien Fourmaux was fastest in the following two stages (Góis 1 and Arganil 1), finishing 0.2s apart. At the end of the section, the Estonian said: “The surfaces were slippery and we had to fight hard with the car. The battle is intense.” The Frenchman, however, was pleased: “I had a good feeling behind the wheel, despite the reduced grip. It was crazy. I made a good effort, and I’m happy with the tyre choice. But there’s still a long way to go.”
The i20 N Rally1 drivers were quite fast on the hard and slippery sections of the Central area, while their Toyota and Ford rivals struggled with the lack of grip, especially in the wet areas – something that was already apparent from the drivers’ comments at the end of the test.
In third place was Sébastien Ogier, the best Toyota driver, 7.4s behind, followed by his team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, 8.1s behind, and Kalle Rovanperä, who lost two places in the Arganil run and is now 13.1s behind the leader. The Finn was frustrated at the end of the section: “The grip conditions are very difficult and we didn’t make the best tyre choice.”
Championship leader Elfyn Evans is having the tough task of being first on the road, 21.7s behind the leader: “The surfaces are very slippery, it’s like a glass top, and I couldn’t be efficient enough,” said the Welshman.
Also worth mentioning is the spin caused by reigning world champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) and the puncture suffered by Mārtiņš Sesks (Ford Puma Rally1), both in the opening qualifying session of the day.
In the WRC2 category, Oliver Solberg (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) won all four stages held this morning and leads with a 16.7s advantage over Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3 Rally2) and 19.4s over Gus Greensmith (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2).
Among the teams participating in the Portuguese Rally Championship, the morning was marked by the duel between Kris Meeke (Toyota) and Dani Sordo (Hyundai), with the former having an advantage of 15s1. Armindo Araújo (Skoda) is in third place – and the best Portuguese driver! – with a 7.4s advantage over Pedro Almeida (Skoda).
In the afternoon, the drivers will repeat their run through the Mortágua, Lousã, Góis and Arganil qualifiers, and will also compete in Águeda/Sever and Sever/Albergaria.
Classification at the end of the 2nd section:
1st Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai I20N Rally1), with 38:45.1
2nd Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai I20N Rally1), 0.2s
3rd Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), 7.4s
4th Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), 8.1s
5th Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), 13.1 s
6th Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), 21.7s
7th Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai I20N Rally1), 25.8s
8th Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), 30.9s
9th Joshua McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1), 47.7s
10th Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1), 50.2s
11th Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), 1.20.1m (1st Rally2)
15. Kris Meeke/Stuart Loudon (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), 1.44.9m (1st PCR)
34th Armindo Araújo/Luís Ramalho (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), 3-19.2m (1st Portuguese)
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