The Korean manufacturer has made an excellent start to Rally Portugal, with Ott Tänak clocking his second consecutive fastest time on Friday morning.
Tänak beat Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä by 1.2 seconds on the Lousã stage. Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux also squeezed in between the two, trailing his teammate Tänak by just 1.1 seconds.
Hyundai’s season has so far been something of an uphill battle, but Tänak offered some cautiously positive remarks this time.
“I try to enjoy. Quite okay stage. Some muddy places haven’t dried out as much as we expected, but overall the grip was quite okay. We’re trying our best,” Tänak said at the finish.
Rovanperä’s mood, however, was more downbeat.
“This one was definitely worse. More difficult feeling with the car, struggling with understeer. Some slippy places here,” Rovanperä admitted.
Elfyn Evans was fourth fastest on the morning’s second stage, 2.3 seconds down on Tänak.
“A few surprises, but all fine. I don’t know if it’s better than we expected, but let’s see what the others do,” Evans summed up.
Takamoto Katsuta and Sébastien Ogier took the next positions. Katsuta lost 2.8 seconds to Tänak, Ogier 3.5 seconds.
“I tried. This one was feeling better, but we’re still too slow,” Ogier said.
Sami Pajari encountered some issues and dropped 9.9 seconds behind the stage leader.
“Nothing special. Just too careful,” Pajari explained.
In the overall standings, Tänak still leads the rally. His advantage over Rovanperä has now grown to 2.5 seconds. Adrien Fourmaux has moved up to third, 4.6 seconds off his teammate.
Evans, Ogier and Katsuta follow in the next spots. Sami Pajari has now slipped to eighth overall, trailing Tänak by 18.1 seconds.
There are still eight more stages to run on Friday. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Portugal standings after SS3/24:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 20:37.8 |
| 2. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +2.5 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +4.6 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +4.9 |
| 5. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +9.6 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +9.9 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +16.8 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +18.1 |
| 9. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +34.3 |
| 10. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +35.9 |
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
