The 2019 world champion has been delivering consistently strong performances throughout the event and went on to top the timesheets once again on stage 16.
Tänak was 1.8 seconds quicker than his closest challenger, Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier, on the second pass through the Cabeceiras de Basto stage.
“Tough stage, but in one piece,” Tänak said at the finish.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was second fastest on the stage, 5.9 seconds off Tänak’s time. Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä matched Neuville’s time exactly. The Finn admitted he was surprised by the stage conditions.
“Really rough conditions, I don’t remember seeing these rough conditions in Portugal,” Rovanperä remarked.
The battle between Rovanperä and his good friend Takamoto Katsuta once again swung in the Finn’s favour. Rovanperä beat Katsuta by 4.5 seconds on the stage.
M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks delivered a strong performance, setting the sixth-fastest time and finishing 14.7 seconds behind Tänak.
The Latvian managed to outpace both Elfyn Evans and Sami Pajari.
“That was quite demanding I must say, big ruts and a lot of stones in the ruts, so didn’t really know how to go for each corner. Not too bad, but tried to be clever,” Pajari said.
In the overall classification, Tänak now leads Ogier by 13.9 seconds. Rovanperä remains in third, though he has dropped to 43.5 seconds behind the leader.
Takamoto Katsuta is now 11.4 seconds behind Rovanperä.
“I am fighting a lot in the car. I need to fix myself and the feeling with the car, it’s so bad,” Katsuta summarised at the finish.
There are still two more stages to be run on Saturday in Rally Portugal. The evening features the longest stage of the rally, Amarante, for a second time, followed by the short Lousada spectator stage. The event concludes on Sunday.
Rally Portugal standings after SS16/24
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 2:43:40.9 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +13.9 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +43.5 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +54.9 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +56.8 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:00.1 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:17.3 |
| 8. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +4:05.4 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +4:33.9 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +6:40.0 |
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
