Rally Portugal 2019
10h
The Toyotas of Ott Tänak and Kris Meeke were the fastest on SS17 of the Rally Portugal. The leader of the event completed the first passage of Fafe, 11,18km long and which will serve as the Power Stage, in 6'38''6, 3 seconds ahead of his teammate. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) followed at 4”1. Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai) set the 7th fastest time, 11 seconds behind the benchmark.
Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) remains behind with 11 seconds behind. His teammate Esapekka Lappi broke his left rear wheel when hitting an embankment and finished almost 40 seconds behind. The Finn will have difficulty continuing with the damage to his C3 WRC since the stage does not include assistance.
Ott Tänak now has a 5s lead over Kris Meeke with three stages remaining on the Rally Portugal. Thierry Neuville is now 4''8 behind the Northern Irishman but Sébastien Ogier is clearly behind with 2 seconds behind the Hyundai. Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) took advantage of Esapekka Lappi's errors to take 29th position.
10h
Tänak hits hard, beating Meeke by 3s in the special. The Estonian regains a lead of 5″4. “I have to attack a little because we have to stay in front of Neuville. Everything is working as expected for the moment. »
10h
Meeke is ahead of Neuville with a 1″1 lead. The Hyundai driver is now 8″2 from 2nd place while the Northern Irishman fights for victory against his teammate Tänak. “We are fighting for the double. My job is to keep Neuville behind. » Toyota, however, has no room to play strategy, the Belgian being too close to the Yaris WRC.
10h
Neuville manages to improve the time of his teammate Sordo by beating him by 6 tenths. “It was a great stage for me. The rear axle was sliding a lot. Nothing is decided yet. »
10h
Sordo increases the pace with a 5″5 lead over Latvala. “The car is very good, we are very satisfied. »
10h
Loeb signs the 3rd provisional time, 8 tenths behind Latvala. “It’s a very nice SS. It's quite tricky with a very fast route. I am satisfied with my grades. »
10h
Ogier ranks 1″6 from the provisional reference. The Citroën driver will certainly secure his 4th place before the Power Stage, Neuville being a little far away now. “I didn’t really attack. We are focusing on the Power Stage. »
10h
Lappi fails with almost half a minute left and leaves 5th place to Suninen. The Finn finished in slow motion, his left rear wheel being broken. “I went wide and hit an embankment. » The Citroën driver had nevertheless managed to avoid mistakes until now on this rally…
10h
Suninen finished 1″1 behind Latvala. The M-Sport driver attacks to catch Lappi in difficulty on his Citroën after his roll on the previous course. “We had a good SS. »
10h
Evans ranks 7 tenths behind Latvala. The M-Sport driver is 7th. “It’s a magnificent stage to ride. »
10h
Latvala improves Greensmith's time by 7s. “I worked on my notes after the recce. I think I can do better in the second pass. »
10h
Greensmith sets the first benchmark in 6'55"8. The M-Sport driver is in 14th place. “It’s a magnificent ES. It's just a shame to have to sweep. »
10h
Latvala already has dust in the special as he is the 2nd driver to start the most famous special of the event.
10h
Greensmith now sets off in the 11,18km of Fafe which will serve as the Power Stage in the second passage.
