Ogier clocked the fastest time on the stage with a 1.1-second margin over overall rally leader Ott Tänak of Hyundai. As a result, the Estonian’s lead at the top of the leaderboard shrank to 5.8 seconds.
“This stage is cleaning like hell. It’s been a good stage for me. I think the soft tyres are better for tomorrow,” Ogier noted.
“Super slow stage, I’m sure it’s cleaning as well and quite low grip,” Tänak agreed.
Takamoto Katsuta continues to hold third place overall for Toyota, but his teammate Kalle Rovanperä closed the gap and now sits fourth, just 4.3 seconds behind the Japanese driver. The penultimate stage of the day was entirely new, meaning the front-running cars had to sweep plenty of loose gravel.
“I was quite happy with our pace notes and preparation. There was a lot of loose gravel. For sure the road is cleaning a lot, and the guys behind will be coming fast,” Rovanperä said.
Fifth place is held by reigning world champion Thierry Neuville, who managed to reduce the gap to Rovanperä. However, the Finn is still 8.2 seconds ahead of Neuville. Completing the fight within the top eight are WRC points leader Elfyn Evans, Toyota’s Finnish driver Sami Pajari, and M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean.
One more stage remains on Friday – a 20-kilometre test. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Portugal standings after SS10/24
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 1:25:59.7 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +5.8 |
| 3. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +14.2 |
| 4. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +18.5 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +26.7 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Hyundai | +52.5 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +55.8 |
| 7. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +1:35.0 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:42.1 |
Rally Portugal Itinerary (CET):
Thursday 15.5.
09.01 Shakedown: Baltar (5,72 km)
20.05 SS1: Figueira da Foz (2,94 km)
Friday 16.5.
08.35 SS2: Mortagua 1 (14,59 km)
10.05 SS3: Lousa 1 (12,28 km)
10.53 SS4: Gois 1 (14,30 km)
11.41 SS5: Arganil 1 (14,41 km)
13.31 Remote Service Arganil 20min
14.05 SS6: Lousa 2 (12,28 km)
14.53 SS7: Gois 2 (14,30 km)
15.41 SS8: Arganil 2 (14,41 km)
16.31 Remote Service Arganil 20min
18.05 SS9: Mortagua 2 (14,59 km)
19.35 SS10: Agueda/Sever (15,08 km)
20.20 SS11: Sever/Albergaria (20,24 km)
Saturday 17.5.
08.35 SS12: Vieira do Minho 1 (17,69 km)
10.35 SS13: Cabeceiras de Basto 1 (19,91 km)
11.25 SS14: Amarante 1 (22,10 km)
13.46 Service 44min
16.05 SS15: Vieira do Minho 2 (17,69 km)
17.05 SS16: Cabeceiras de Basto 2 (19,91 km)
18.55 SS17: Amarante 2 (22,10 km)
20.05 SS18: Lousada (3,52 km)
Sunday 18.5.
07.43 SS19: Paredes 1 (16,09 km)
08.48 SS20: Felgueiras 1 (8,81 km)
09.35 SS21: Fafe 1 (11,18 km)
10.58 SS22: Paredes 2 (16,09 km)
12.03 SS23: Felgueiras 2 (8,81 km)
14.15 SS24: Fafe 2 (11,18 km) *Power Stage
