Hyundai’s Ott Tänak had taken the top spot from Ogier on the previous stage, but on the Paredes special stage, Ogier set a clear fastest time.
Tänak was running almost neck and neck with Ogier for much of the stage, but a puncture slowed the Estonian’s pace towards the end.
“It was for 8.5km so we lost 20sec. I was driving really slow to not take it off the rim,” Tänak recounted.
Ogier now has a 13.6-second lead over Tänak in the overall standings.
“It was a big push on this one, it hasn’t been so easy since the beginning of the rally so not easy for us,” Ogier stated.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville remains in third place in the gravel rally but is now almost a minute behind the leader. Dani Sordo is right on his teammate’s heels.
The lead also changed in the WRC2 class, as the leading Yohan Rossel had to stop for a tyre change. Thus, Gus Greensmith moved into the top spot in the class.
The Rally de Portugal continues with five more special stages after the service break on Saturday. The event concludes on Sunday.
Rally de Portugal standings after SS13/22:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:12:17.1 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +13.6 |
| 3. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +54.4 |
| 4. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | +58.0 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:18.4 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:39,3 |
| 7. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +6:21.6 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +7:06.6 |
| 9. | Joshua McErlean | Skoda | +7:11.3 |
| 10. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +7:14.9 |
| 11. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +7:37.0 |
Rally de Portugal itinerary (CET):
Thursday, 9th May 09:01 Shakedown: Baltar (4.61 km) 20:05 SS1: Figueira da Foz (2.94 km) Friday, 10th May 09:05 SS2: Mortágua 1 (18.15 km) 10:35 SS3: Lousã 1 (12.28 km) 11:35 SS4: Góis 1 (14.30 km) 12:35 SS5: Arganil 1 (18.72 km) 15:05 SS6: Lousã 2 (12.28 km) 16:05 SS7: Góis 2 (14.30 km) 17:05 SS8: Arganil 2 (18.72 km) 18:35 SS9: Mortágua 2 (18.15 km) Saturday, 11th May 09:05 SS10: Felgueiras 1 (8.81 km) 10:05 SS11: Montim 1 (8.69 km) 11:10 SS12: Amarante 1 (37.24 km) 12:35 SS13: Paredes 1 (16.09 km) 15:35 SS14: Felgueiras 2 (8.81 km) 16:35 SS15: Montim 2 (8.69 km) 17:40 SS16: Amarante 2 (37.24 km) 19:05 SS17: Paredes 2 (16.09 km) 20:05 SS18: Lousada (3.36 km) Sunday, 12th May 08:05 SS19: Cabeceiras de Basto 1 (19.91 km) 09:35 SS20: Fafe 1 (11.18 km) 10:32 SS21: Cabeceiras de Basto 2 (19.91 km) 13:15 SS22: Fafe 2 (11.18 km)
