Toyota holds the top three positions at the end of Friday, but Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is hot on the heels of Kalle Rovanperä, Sebastien Ogier, and Takamoto Katsuta. The top four are within just over five seconds of each other.
Multichampion Ogier made a fierce attack on the Mortagua special stage that concluded Friday. The Frenchman blasted the fastest time, 3.2 seconds ahead of Rovanperä, and moved up to second overall, just one second behind the Finnish leader in the gravel rally.
“I was frustrated before because we lost the hybrid on the previous stage. It is nice to finish the day like this. The hybrid is also working now,” Ogier smiled at the finish of Friday’s final stage.”I was frustrated before because we lost the hybrid on the previous stage. It is nice to finish the day like this. The hybrid is also working now,” Ogier smiled at the finish of Friday’s final stage.
Rovanperä struggled with his car’s settings throughout the day but still heads into the night break in the lead. He also gets the best possible starting position for Saturday’s driving.
“It has been great fight all day, unfortunately the pace has not been where it should be,” Rovanperä said.
“It really hasn’t been easy, as the car was not in 100% perfect settings. We need to improve the car for tomorrow so we can fight properly,” he continued.
Dani Sordo, who set the fastest time on three stages on Friday, is fifth in the rally, 17.9 seconds behind the leader. Hot on his heels is the championship leader Thierry Neuville, who served as the road sweeper on Friday’s stages.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who is second in the championship, fell off the pace on Friday. He is in eighth place, nearly two minutes behind the leader. Evans’s co-driver Scott Martin lost their pacenote book at the beginning of the afternoon loop, forcing him to read the pacenotes from his smartphone on the last three special stages.
The Rally de Portugal continues on Saturday with nine special stages. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally de Portugal standings after SS9/22:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:25:00.4 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1.0 |
| 3. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +4.7 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +5.4 |
| 5. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | +17.9 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +18.1 |
| 7. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +31.8 |
| 8. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:43.2 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2:27.3 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +3:42.1 |
| 11. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +3:49.4 |
| 12. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +3:55.4 |
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)
