Reigning world rally champion Sébastien Ogier delivered a wet weather masterclass as the Toyota driver reclaimed the Rally Portugal lead after Oliver Solberg lost ground to a puncture and spin.
The nine-time world champion once again outlined his class in tricky conditions to end Saturday’s mammoth 145 kilometre leg with a 21.9s lead over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Toyota’s Sami Pajari held third, a further 3.9s back.
Ogier started the afternoon loop trailing Solberg by 0.5s after the latter stunned the field to climb from fourth to first in the wet stage 14.
However, Solberg’s time in the rally lead was short-lived as Ogier issued a response in the first stage after midday service. Held in largely dry conditions, Ogier admitted he needed to push after Solberg’s stage 14 time and managed to take the stage win by 0.1s from Pajari.
Solberg dropped 4.5s in the test as he dropped to second overall, 4.0s behind Ogier. However, second position would turn into fifth by the next stage. A front right puncture likely picked up from exposed bedrock in the rough stage 16 cost Solberg 18.8s.
The tyre issue elevated Ogier into a 3.9s rally lead over Neuville as Pajari moved to third and championship leader Elfyn Evans snatched fourth.
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Heavy rain created treacherous wet and muddy conditions for stage 17 (Amarante), testing crews to the very limit.
The stage belonged to rally leader Ogier, who delivered a stunning effort to go 11.2s faster than anyone else. The time was enough to extend his rally lead over Neuville to 16.0s.
“Not the most enjoyable stage but we made it. The driving was not so awesome, it was about surviving in there. I will take that,” said Ogier.
Solberg once again excelled in the wet conditions as he did in stage 14. But this time he couldn’t beat Ogier, although his third fastest time was enough to move up to fourth ahead of Evans, who stopped briefly after losing the front of his car.
Ogier delivered another head turning drive to win stage 18 that also featured plenty of standing water, including a section reminiscent of Safari Rally Kenya.
After dropping 19.1s to Solberg in the first pass of the stage in the morning, Ogier went on to set a time 3.7s faster than Evans to take the stage win and move into a 20.2s rally lead over Neuville.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Hyundai
Ogier then extended his lead by another 1.7s after beating Neuville. In the head-to-head Super Special held in torrential rain at the Lousada rallycross circuit, Pajari lost his duel with Solberg but remained in third overall.
Solberg managed to hold onto fourth [+49.6s] but was frustrated by a spin in stage 18 that cost him valuable time. Championship leader Evans completed the loop in fifth [+58.2s] ahead of Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who picked up two stages wins across Saturday’s loop, but was unable to catch Evans.
Safari Rally Kenya and Croatia winner Takamoto Katsuta was also frustrated for much of the day, marooned in seventh. The Japanese driver did make up time in the wet to head into Sunday 11.5s behind Fourmaux.
Hyundai’s Dani Sordo endured a frustrating Saturday, unable to find the speed to make any inroads in his pursuit of the lead group. The Spaniard ended the day in eighth overall [+3m44.7s]
M-Sport-Ford’s Mārtiņš Sesks completed the day in ninth overall. Sesks impressed in the wet stage 17 to clock the second fastest, while McErlean was fortunate fans were able to push him back on the road after an off in the same test.
McErlean also suffered a spin at the first corner in stage 18 before his miserable day ended in the barriers at the Super Special stage after being caught out by the mud.
M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong became the first Rally1 driver to suffer a retirement in the rally after he rolled his Ford Puma in stage 15. The Northern Irishman nudged a bank 600 metres into the test which was enough to pitch the car into a roll. The car came to rest off the road with both Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne unscathed.
Jon Armstrong, Shane Byrne, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1
Photo by: M-Sport
It is unclear if he will rejoin the rally for Super Sunday. Armstrong had been sitting in 10th position after recovering from losing time to a power steering failure on Friday.
Crews will face four more stages on Sunday, comprising 65.56km.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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