In the second half of the day, K. Rovanpera took over the initiative in the Portuguese rally Sports

SS8

Practically identical time was recorded by K. Rovanpera and O. Tanakas who won the GR (P2 and 0.1 seconds behind). Both athletes agreed that it is almost impossible to go faster.

A great performance in SS8 allowed O. Tanak to overtake S. Ogier to climb to P3 in the overall standings. After the finish, the Estonian openly admitted that he was risking everything for the best possible starting position on Saturday.

SS7 E. Evans had a flat tire

A punctured tire also contributed to the Welshman’s problems in this GR, due to which E. Evans lost about 52.7 seconds.

Even though D.Sordo won the GR, S.Ogier came close to the rally leader in the general standings by a full fighting 1.7 seconds. at a distance

Meanwhile, Kalle Rovanpera led the overall standings by almost a microscopic 0.2 seconds before her teammate T. Katsutas. difference.

SS6 The rally leader has changed

S.Ogier won the stage, but even more important was K.Rovanpera’s fixed P2 time in the stage, as he allowed 0.1 seconds in the overall standings. overtake T.Katsuta and become the new leader of the rally.

Meanwhile, E. Evans continued to complain about the tuning of the car and as a result he lost 10.9 seconds to the leader.

SS5

T.Neuville showed an impressive pace in SS5. Neither O. Tanakas nor S. Ogier or K. Rovanpera were equal to him. This allowed the Belgian to rise to second place overall.

Even 7.3 seconds. Elfyn Evans, who lost to the Belgian, complained that he couldn’t feel the car. And what’s worse, after this stretch, the racers could only change the parts they carry in their cars in the service area.

D.Sordo, who drove with a broken hybrid engine, was 5 seconds behind Thierry.

SS4

A situation similar to SS3 was repeated, when D.Sordo and K.Rovanpera, who started last, recorded the best times. D.Sordo, who won again, this time moved up to P5 in the general standings, but was still 6.4 seconds behind the leader.

Meanwhile, T. Katsuta (finished in P5) in the micro duel for the leader’s position in the overall standings is still 0.4 seconds behind. moved away from O.Tanako (P6 in the stretch and second overall) and already led the rally by almost two seconds.

SS3 T. Katsuta became the leader of the rally

“On this stretch, the road surface was much drier, so I had more road clearance. I had no chance to record at least a slightly better time”, complained after the finish only P7 remaining and 8 seconds. behind T.Neuville.

Soon K. Rovanpera, who was one of the last to start (in the P2 section), took advantage of this, for whom the road had already been cleared and improved O. Tanako’s previous fastest time by a Finnish second.

Despite this, D.Sordo, who was the last to leave the stretch, was in the best position. Convincingly winning the stretch, the Spaniard overtook the nearest pursuer by 3.2 seconds. However, due to the twelve seconds lost in SS2, after this victory, Dani only moved up to P7 in the general standings.

Most of T.Neuville’s troubles while clearing the road were won by T.Katsuta, who even after finishing P4 in this section, still rose to the first place in the general standings.

SS2

T.Neuville successfully started the second day of the rally. The Belgian, who started first, seemed to feel quite confident and only slowed down a little in the last sectors of the stretch. Despite this, Thierry overtook many athletes who started after him and finished in P2 position (1.2 seconds behind the winner).

To the surprise of many, the Belgian was surpassed only by T. Katsuta who won the stretch. The Japanese overtook S. Ogier and K. Rovanper by about six seconds.

O. Tanakas also performed well (finishing P3), who was only less than a second behind T. Neuville in this section.

The leaders of the championship, T.Neuville and E.Evans, were the first to stand at the starting line, who are likely to give an advantage to the rest of the riders by clearing the roads. In this regard, S. Ogier and K. Rovanpera, who will start only in part of the championship stages, will be in a particularly good position, who will be among the last to leave on the cleaned gravel and will have almost the best possible conditions.