Rally Portugal 2019
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The first crews have already set off in the 18,78km of Gois.
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Dani Sordo (Hyundai) signed the provisional scratch in the 12,35km of Lousa, the first special of the Rally of Portugal. The Spaniard took advantage of his position behind to complete the course in 9'06''9, more than 4 seconds ahead of Ott Tänak (Toyota) and Teemu Suninen (M-Sport). Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) follows almost 5 seconds behind, preceding Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) and Kris Meeke (Toyota) who complained of dust despite the gap of 4 minutes between each WRC. Esapekka Lappi (Citroën) finished 8 seconds behind the benchmark, preceding Gus Greensmith (M-Sport).
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) led the group of struggling drivers 14 seconds behind, preceding Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) by almost a second. The reigning WRC champion was ahead of Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai) by 6 tenths.
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Greensmith set the 8th fastest time, 10 seconds behind Sordo.
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Greensmith is on the pace with 2 seconds behind Sordo at the first intermediate.
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Sordo takes the provisional scratch with 4″2 ahead of Tänak! Magnificent start for the Hyundai driver. “It wasn't too bad even if the last part was complicated. I was afraid of being bothered by the dust but it was okay. »
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Sordo leads Tänak by 3s in the 2nd intermediate. The Hyundai driver seems well on his way to securing the scratch while his teammates Loeb and Neuville suffered on this course.
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Sordo is in the lead at the first intermediate with half a second ahead of Suninen and almost a second over Tänak.
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Suninen misses the scratch by 2 tenths behind. The M-Sport driver takes provisional 2nd place ahead of Latvala. “We started well. There was a lot of dust in the special. »
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Suninen is now 2 tenths behind Tänak in the 2nd split but he remains a contender for the scratch.
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Latvala fails 6 tenths behind his Estonian teammate but can satisfy himself by setting the 2nd provisional time. “The road is quite bad, we had to anticipate braking. »
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Suninen is the fastest in the first sector with 3 tenths ahead of Tänak.
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Latvala is fighting for the best time, only 3 tenths behind Tänak in the 2nd split.
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Lappi signs the 4th provisional time, less than 4s from the provisional scratch. “The sweeping must be significant but you don't really feel it while driving. It still looked very dirty. »
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Latvala is 8 tenths behind Tänak at the first intermediate. The Finn seems to be keeping pace with his teammates.
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Lappi is 3″6 from the reference at the 2nd intermediate, in the 4th provisional position.
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Loeb finally failed a dozen seconds from the benchmark, falling 6 tenths behind his compatriot Ogier who opened the road. “There was a lot of dust in the first km. I tried to get into rhythm afterwards but the road remained slippery. It was complicated. »
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Loeb is the slowest in the special with 11 seconds behind Tänak in the 2nd intermediate position.
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Lappi is on Meeke's pace with a second behind Tänak in the first partial.
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Good time from Evans who ranks 1″7 behind Tänak being closest to the Toyota driver. “I don't feel like I was perfect,” says the Welshman, who leaves quickly.
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Loeb is behind with 5 seconds behind Tänak in the first intermediate while Evans is a few tenths behind the benchmark in the 2nd sector. Are the Hyundais in difficulty on Portuguese soil?
