Tänak stopped, Evans new leader

Published on 22/05/2021 à 19:23

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The misfortune of one person makes the happiness of others. This is how we can summarize this second Saturday loop in Portugal. Strong leader and performer since the start of the day, Ott Tänak (Hyundai) avait tout pour dormir dans la peau du meneur une nouvelle nuit.

But then, bad luck knocked on the Estonian's door. So in the last part of SS14, the 2019 champion saw his right rear suspension give way. Determined to go all the way, Ott Tänak was finally forced to stop on the side of the road as the damage to his i20 was so significant.

Dauphin de son homologue depuis vendredi soir, Elfyn Evans (Toyota) a lui vu tous les éléments s’aligner. Sans la nécessité de se mettre en danger afin de revenir sur la tête, le Gallois a récupéré les commandes du Rally of Portugal while Ott Tänak said goodbye to his hopes of victory.

LIVE UPDATE: Rear suspension damage for @OttTanak in SS14! The rally leader is dropping time

LIVE STREAM & Standings https://t.co/m2aWjw9Ya9
live updates https://t.co/TB268ztTnG #WRC I #WRCLive I #RallydePortugal pic.twitter.com/kJlzmoV7E3

— WRC – FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) May 22, 2021

After Thierry Neuville the day before, Hyundai once again saw one of its drivers affected by technical problems. Like his teammate, Ott Tänak will not leave this Saturday.

#WRC UPDATE car #8: @OttTanak & Martin are forced to withdraw from day two at @rallydeportugal with rear-right suspension damage picked on SS14. The team will recover the car and bring it back to service. #HMSGOfficial

— hmsgofficial (@HMSGOfficial) May 22, 2021

Thanks to this gift of destiny, Elfyn Evans now takes the second super-special of the weekend in the shoes of the leader. He is 16 ahead of Dani Sordo (Hyundai) and more than a minute ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) who entered the Top 3 for the first time in the event.

Derrière, Gus Greensmith (M-Sport), 5e au général, a vu son coéquipier Adrien fourmaux get back to less than 8 seconds. The Englishman lost more than a minute to the Frenchman due to a problem with his accelerator.