Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who had been maintaining a strong pace throughout Friday, cut too close to a ditch on the second pass of the Arnagil stage, causing the suspension on the front wheel of his Hyundai to break. Fourmaux’s car was left awkwardly positioned almost in the middle of the road, but fortunately those approaching from behind were able to pass safely without incident.
Fourmaux had been driving well before the retirement. After the seventh stage, he was in the fight for the lead, trailing his team-mate Ott Tänak by only 0.8 seconds.
The fastest time on the eighth special stage was set by Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. He managed to beat Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä by half a second. Rovanperä was satisfied with his performance after the stage.
“We’re doing everything we can to secure a good road position for tomorrow. This was the first proper Rally Portugal stage. It went quite well,” said Rovanperä.
“It wasn’t enough. At least we got a bit of good feeling back,” Neuville commented in turn.
Rally leader Ott Tänak only managed the fifth fastest time, losing 3.3 seconds to the front-runners. Tänak only learned at the finish line what had happened to his team-mate Fourmaux.
“It’s not good for the team. I tried to drive a good stage. There were a few surprises and a couple of bigger impacts, where I broke my windscreen,” Tänak revealed.
Fourmaux’s off led to a boost in Toyota’s fortunes. Takamoto Katsuta moved up to second place in the rally and Sébastien Ogier to third. Rovanperä is now in fourth. Katsuta is now 3.5 seconds behind the leader and Ogier trails by 3.9 seconds. Rovanperä’s gap to the lead is now 14.7 seconds.
Sami Pajari remains in seventh place. He is 45.6 seconds off the lead.
“Conditions were much better now. I could have pushed even harder,” Pajari commented.
Rally Portugal’s long Friday still features three more special stages. The event concludes on Sunday.
Rally Portugal standings after SS8/24:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 1:05.36.2 |
| 2. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3.5 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +3.9 |
| 4. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +14.7 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +23.0 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Hyundai | +39.5 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +45.6 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:13.4 |
| 9. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +1:16.4 |
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
