Rally Portugal 2019

09h

Kris Meeke (Toyota) took almost 2 seconds from his teammate Ott Tänak in SS16 of the Rally of Portugal by completing the 8,76km of Montim in 5'49''1 despite dust which hampered the participants due to 'a gap of 2 minutes between each car.

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) followed 3 tenths behind the Estonian but above all took around ten seconds from Sébastien Ogier (Citroën). Esapekka Lappi (Citroën) rolled over and lost 19 seconds to Teemu Suninen (M-Sport). Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai) set the 4th time, more than 8 seconds behind the benchmark.

Ott Tänak now only has a lead of 2s over Kris Meeke at the Rally Portugal. Thierry Neuville follows 4 seconds behind the Northern Irishman. Sébastien Ogier is now more than 7 seconds behind the Belgian. Esapekka Lappi remains 21th but Teemu Suninen was able to come back to 5 seconds behind his C6 WRC damaged in the accident. Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) remains 3th ahead of the Skodas of Kalle Rovanperä and Jan Kopecky at the head of WRC 7 Pro.

09h

Tänak drops 1″9 to his teammate Meeke who returns to 2″4 from the lead of the race! “As long as we ensure a good result, that’s good. »

09h

Meeke does even better with a 2″2 lead over Neuville. The Hyundai driver is now 7″1 from 2nd place. “It was important to make the hole quickly but it was complicated in the dust. The 2 minute gap is too small. »

09h

Great time from Neuville who improved his teammate Loeb's time by 6″4 and relegated Ogier to 9″5. The Frenchman is no longer in contact with the Belgian, more than 21 seconds behind 4th place. “There was a lot of dust but I attacked very hard. Fortunately, my grades were very good. »

09h

Sordo follows his teammate Loeb by 6 tenths. The two again took an insignificant penalty for not starting in front of Ogier and sweeping his way. “I preserved one tire by not attacking too much. It wasn't too bad. »

09h

Loeb improves the benchmark with a 1″ lead over Latvala. “The conditions were very bad, there was a lot of dust. »

09h

Ogier performs a little better than his teammate by signing the 4th provisional time, 1″8 from the provisional reference. The Citroën driver tries to stay in contact with Neuville. “I drove like on the connections. It won't be any worse for those who follow. »

09h

Lappi lost 19s to Suninen and only retained 5th position by 6”1. “I started to spin and hit an embankment which caused me to roll over. I need to check the condition of my car. »

09h

Barrel for Lappi! The Citroën driver restarted the special after ending up on the roof while going sideways in a hairpin. However, he was comfortably seated in 5th row…

09h

Suninen is the furthest behind at the finish, almost 4 seconds behind Latvala. The M-Sport driver is 6th. “Yes, there’s a lot of dust towards the end in the forest. »

09h

Evans finally finished 8 tenths behind Latvala after being ahead in the special. The Welshman is isolated in 7th place.

09h

Dust could well be a problem for the last drivers to start. Evans is already going through layers of dust.

09h

Latvala only improved Greensmith’s time by 1″. The Finn must not be at full speed after his retirement the day before with a shock absorber problem. “It wasn't easy at all. It could get worse as the passages progress. »

09h

Greensmith signs a first reference in 6'00"3. “I was last and now first on the road. It's not very pleasant, even in the WRC. »

09h

Sordo and Loeb will still leave behind so as not to sweep the road for Ogier.

09h

Crews leave every 2 minutes. Will dust be a problem?

09h

It is Greensmith who leads the way in this stage. The rookie restarted in Rally 2 after making a mistake the day before on the last course.

09h

Neuville: “It will be complicated to regain 9s at Tänak because the road surface will not be conducive to big gaps. O will attack to do our best. »

09h

Below is today's route in local time. Add an hour to get French time:

 

09h

The crews will still have to fight for more than 51km before we know the winner of the Rally of Portugal.

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