Rally Portugal 2019
16h
The crews are preparing to compete in the second passage of Cabeceiras de Basto, 22,22km long, which should begin at 17:01 p.m. Latvala was the fastest with a time of 13’42”9.
16h
Tänak is arrested on the link. The crew is in communication with their team while inspecting the Toyota. Has the Estonian identified a problem with his car?
16h
Ott Tänak (Toyota) signed a new scratch by completing SS11 of the Rally of Portugal, the 20,53km of Vieira do Minho, in 12’51”5. His teammate Kris Meeke was the closest with a second delay, but Jari-Matti Latvala lost around ten seconds. The Finn encountered problems with a front shock absorber.
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) finished 4”5 behind the benchmark, gaining 9 tenths from Sébastien Ogier (Citroën). Esapekka Lappi (Citroën) followed the Frenchman, ahead of Teemu Suninen (M-Sport). Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai) finished around fifteen seconds behind.
Ott Tänak regained a lead of almost 15 seconds over Jari-Matti Latvala who found himself threatened by Kris Meeke who had returned to less than 5 seconds. Thierry Neuville remains 4th, now 2”8 ahead of Sébastien Ogier. Esapekka Lappi is still 6th ahead of the Fords of Teemu Suninen, Gus Greensmith and Elfyn Evans.
16h
Kopecky drives with the hood open in the special. At least dust is no longer a problem...
16h
Despite Meeke's time, it was Tänak who took the scratch, one second ahead of the Northern Irishman. After a slight slack, the Estonian regained a lead of almost 15 seconds over Latvala who was having difficulty with his shock absorbers.
16h
Latvala marks time, almost 9s behind Meeke. The Northern Irishman came back to within 5 seconds of the Finn and definitely remains in the Toyota match. “He makes sure we check the front shock absorbers. I couldn't feel the front end of the car well. »
16h
Meeke takes the provisional scratch with a 3″5 lead over Neuville. The Northern Irishman consolidates his 3rd place with almost 9 seconds ahead of the Belgian.
16h
Neuville manages to beat Ogier by 9 tenths. The Citroën driver is now 2″8 behind the Belgian. “It’s the slipperiest SS. I found myself off the lines at times and I was afraid of hitting a bad stone. »
16h
Neuville is 8 tenths behind Ogier at the split. The Belgian has one wheel less than the Frenchman.
16h
Sordo ranks 4″3 behind Ogier, ahead of Loeb by more than 2s. The Spaniard, like the French, sweeps the road to Neuville. “I’m a little surprised by Ogier’s time. He is very fast. »
16h
Loeb finishes with the 5th provisional time, around ten seconds behind Ogier. “We had a good SS, nothing special to report. »
16h
Ogier finally improved his teammate Lappi’s time by 2″7. Neuville is half a second behind the Belgian in the first partial. “We'll see what happens with the 2 wheels on board. »
16h
Suninen misses the provisional scratch by 7 tenths and finds himself around ten seconds behind Lappi in the general classification. “We would have liked to do better but it’s okay. »
16h
Ogier is on pace with his teammate Lappi, 3 tenths behind the Finn in the 2nd sector.
16h
Greenmsith finished 4s behind Lappi. The M-Sport driver is in 8th place.
16h
Lappi improves Evans' time by more than 17 seconds. " It's very hard. It’s so hot, I didn’t expect such a challenge. » The Citroën driver is in 6th place.
16h
Volkswagen has communicated following the series of fires occurring on the Polo GTI R5. Before the fire on Veiby's VW, Meireles suffered the same problem during the first stage. Other events of this type have occurred in the past.
“We are working around the clock to identify the cause of fires occurring in some of our customers’ cars. The most important thing is that all crews are safe and sound. »
16h
Evans signs a time of 13'17″1, around 18 seconds behind Meeke's scratch in the first run. “I’m really struggling. The roads are narrow, I can’t turn…”
16h
Lappi remains on a good pace with more than 13 seconds ahead of Evans in the second half.
16h
Greensmith followed 3s behind Lappi in the first part, ahead of his teammate Evans by more than 6s, victim of the Hyundai strategy.
