The day began with the news of the cancellation of the Ponte Lima (SS2) stage due to a fire. Caminha (SS3) and Viana (SS4) made the party, in a big way.
If arriving in Lousada and bumping into a spectacular audience was a great satisfaction, our high expectations for today have come true. In Viana do Castelo, the jump was one of the highlights, with the public once again giving body to a relentless party. Caminha was not far behind.
With the Atlantic in the background, the day went well for those who headed to the northernmost stages of this edition of the Rally de Portugal.
Latvala ended the day in the lead
It was the competition leader, Jari-Matti Latvala, who won the last stage of the day, having been the fastest for the second time in a qualifying (SS7 – Viana do Castelo). This performance allowed him to establish an advantage of 11.1s in relation to the second placed, the Briton Kris Meeke (Citröen). Championship leader Sébastien Ogier was second fastest and confessed that he had to manage the condition of the tyres, and in the morning he even suffered from a slow puncture.
Several drivers suffered punctures in their cars and had other problems because they didn't expect such harsh conditions in the afternoon.
In the second passage through Caminha Ogier was the fastest and reduced the disadvantage to the opponents. The World Cup leader is sixth, 26 seconds behind teammate Latvala.
Ott Tanak was third fastest and finished the day fourth, 1.8s off Andreas Mikkelsen, who is still third.
Tire problems marked the afternoon
During the afternoon, there was a lot of talk about tyres. Almost all riders chose to use a mix of soft and hard, with some opting for soft ones. The hottest and most abrasive specials were a challenge. The driver Lorenzo Bertelli was not even able to return to the assistance because he had two holes that damaged the rims and the car was not able to circulate.
The first special of the afternoon, Ponte de Lima 2, was eventually canceled due to a fire that broke out in the surroundings. As the safety conditions were not met, the race direction decided that the fifth qualifying of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal would not be held.
In WRC2, Nasser Al-Attiyah won the final stage of the day. Karl Kruuda did second, even after he caught a slower competitor in front of him that made him lose time. At the end of the round, Qatari leads with 13.5 seconds ahead of Yazeed Al-Rajhi. Pontus Tideman, who debuts the Skoda Fabia R5, is third.
In WRC3 there is a strong dispute for the first one. Quentin Gilbert is the leader, but Terry Folb (2nd) finished the day just 8.2s behind. Ole Christian Veiby is third but is more than half a minute behind the Frenchman.
In the Portuguese, Bernardo Sousa led during the morning, but ended up giving up the position in the first special of the afternoon. The Portuguese driver damaged the Peugeot's radiator because it had too low a ground clearance for the specials that had deep grooves, and decided to abandon it so as not to damage the engine. Miguel Campos (Ford Fiesta R5), who was second, would finish the day in first place.
The driver from Famalicão has an advantage of more than two minutes over the second Portuguese, Pedro Meireles. Miguel Barbosa occupies the last place on the podium among the Portuguese.
Today the Vodafone Rally de Portugal enters the Marão area. Baião (18.57 km), Marão (26.46 km) and Fridão (37.67 km) are the specials that competitors will complete twice. There are 586.84 kilometers, of which 165.4 kilometers against the chronometer.
Images: André Vieira/Thom Van Esveld – Ledger Automobile
