Katsuta found excellent pace on the second pass of the Góis stage. The Japanese driver climbed to third overall and became the leading Toyota driver, moving ahead of his teammate Sébastien Ogier.
“Everything went well. The balance of the car was better now,” Katsuta reported at the finish.
The fight at the front of the rally is incredibly close. Hyundai still holds a one-two lead, with Ott Tänak ahead by just 0.8 seconds over Adrien Fourmaux. Katsuta trails the lead by 4.9 seconds, and Ogier is 5.2 seconds behind Tänak.
“It’s a really great fight, we try to stay together, it’s really important for the team. Quite difficult in this one, I did not get the feeling like this morning, quite tricky to be fair,” Fourmaux commented.
Kalle Rovanperä continues to suffer from his early road position, as the road cleans for the drivers behind. He lost 3.6 seconds to Katsuta’s benchmark on the stage.
The Finnish ace is now fifth overall, 17.5 seconds off the lead.
“Now in the afternoon feeling is bit better. Condition is closer to what we are used to here, but I think it will also clean up quite a bit,” Rovanperä noted.
Behind Rovanperä on the leaderboard are Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, followed by his Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Sami Pajari.
Four more stages remain on Friday at Rally Portugal.
Rally Portugal standings after SS7/24:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 56:51.5 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +0.8 |
| 3. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +4.9 |
| 4. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +5.2 |
| 5. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +17.5 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +26.3 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +34.9 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +40.2 |
| 9. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +1:01.4 |
| 10. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:05.3 |
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
