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Tanak not far from “being in the fight” after Portugal WRC victory challenge

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The 2019 world champion ignited his season last weekend by ending a 2024 podium drought after losing out in an intense victory battle with Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier.

Prior to Portugal, Tanak had struggled for form since rejoining Hyundai this year, headlined by mistakes in the season opener in Monte Carlo and in Sweden, followed by an unfortunate crash in Kenya.

Finding the sweet spot in the i20 N was an issue in Croatia and again in Portugal, although Tanak was able to make progress and drive around the problems last weekend to challenge Ogier.

Tanak briefly led the rally on Saturday before a slow puncture on stage 13 handed the advantage back to the Frenchman, which held to the finish by a margin of 7.9s.

While Tanak admits he is not feeling 100% driving the Hyundai, he is making progress.

“I would say [we could have won without the puncture]. If you take 13 or 15 seconds off [the time] then we were going to be there,” Tanak told Motorsportcom.

“Obviously, Seb was pushing all the way through, so I would say he definitely didn’t slow down because of it.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“Definitely the outcome is not too bad it is just very unfortunate this one stage with the tyre, the slow puncture, otherwise I would say it was quite positive. On Friday we were struggling but I was slowly getting used to the car and in the Power Stage on Sunday I went for a push, but it wasn’t really working anymore, and I had too many mistakes.

“As long as I could keep a little margin, I was able to manage and especially with the second loop when the roads were a bit rougher and when I could lean in the ruts, I was quite ok.

“Let’s say, we are not in a place with the car where I have the speed of the others, but at least we are not far away, and if we keep pushing, we should be in the fight.”

Although Tanak missed out on victory, he scored 26 points, a point more than rally winner Ogier thanks to the championship’s new points structure. The points haul moved Tanak into third in the championship, 31 points behind leader and Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville.

When asked if this was a boost to the championship, he added: “Let’s see. Like in Croatia, everybody has still scored the same points. You can do whatever you want but it [this point system] is like being in Kindergarten, and there is a thumbs up for everyone and a thanks for coming.”

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Neuville stunned by almost “impossible” result in WRC Rally Portugal

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Hyundai driver had downplayed chances of a strong result in the first event of the WRC’s traditional gravel season given the disadvantage of opening the gravel roads on Friday.

An impressive performance on Friday, which included a stunning stage win on Arganil, limited the time loss to 18.1s to keep the Belgian firmly in the fight.

Neuville was able to steadily climb the leaderboard to sit third, claiming 13 points, heading into the final day having been assisted by retirements for rally leader Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta, who held third.

To cap off the display Neuville finished second in the Super Sunday standings and won the Power Stage to claim 24 points, 18 more than title rival Evans, who endured a difficult rally.

“Nobody expected us to be on the podium here actually and to increase the lead in the championship was nearly impossible,” Neuville told Motorsport.com.

“But somehow, we made it with a strong Friday run and then after that, we were consistent yesterday and we pushed hard today for those extra points which have made the difference.

“It is quite a margin [in the championship] but you can see how easy it is to lose points with Elfyn having problems today. I mean if somebody has a good run on Friday and Saturday and you have problems on Sunday and he scores the 12 points, he can take back some of the gap, so consistency is going to be important.”

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Evans was fortunate to salvage six points from the event after a stone damaged his cooling system which required the Welshman to limp to the end of the penultimate stage in EV mode before undergoing a roadside repair.

This ended any hopes of securing any Super Sunday points leaving Evans with six points acquired from finishing sixth at the end of Saturday. Evans started the rally on the backfoot as he struggled for confidence with the balance of his GR Yaris.

The Toyota driver then had to drive to pacenotes being delivered from a mobile phone after co-driver Scott Martin accidentally left his pacenote book at the stage six time control. The misfortune was compounded by a puncture in stage seven.

“The six points is the only positive. Of course, you want to forget the weekend, but we have to learn from it and be ready for the next one,” Evans told Motorsport.com.

“It is still early in the season. It is not what you hope for, and we obviously have to aim for some strong rallies and see what is possible.

“It is definitely the case that anything can happen at any point of the season. For sure, 24 points seems big now, but it can turn around very quickly.”

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Surpassing Markku Alen’s WRC Portugal record “means a lot”

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Eight-time world champion Ogier added yet another record to his glittering resume by scoring a record sixth career Rally Portugal after beating Hyundai’s Ott Tanak by 7.9s. The triumph marked Ogier’s 60th WRC win and his second from three rallies during a part-time campaign for Toyota this year.

Rally Portugal, one of the founding members of the WRC in 1973, is a special place for Ogier having scored his first WRC win in 2010 for the Citroen Junior Team. Further wins followed in 2011 (Citroen), 2013-2014 (Volkswagen) and 2017 (M-Sport Ford) and until now, Ogier had been tied with 1978 world champion Alen for most wins in Portugal (1975,1977,1978,1981,1987).

Now standing on his own in the Rally Portugal record books, 40-year-old Ogier admitted his latest triumph was a special victory.

“It is [special] for sure. It looks like every weekend I get to enjoy nice new number, so I have to enjoy these moments and cherish them as you never know when it is going to end,” Ogier told Motorsport.com.

“But at the moment we are still having a good run and my age hasn’t hit us too bad yet, so we have to continue like this.

“It means a lot as he [Markku] is a legend. I have heard this comparison for years now and somehow it is nice to have this behind me, although I have enjoyed tying with him on this record.”

The passage to victory was not straightforward as Ogier initially struggled with the setup of his Toyota on Friday, before emerging from an intense fight with Tanak.

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Ogier felt the secret to the success was “almost perfect race management” across the 22 stages. The only negative in Ogier’s eyes was the fact he left Portugal, scoring one point less than Tanak under the new points system that continues to split opinion.

“I think it is pretty clear that our race management was as close to perfect this weekend, and that is what brought us to where we are today,” he said.

“We pushed when we needed to and when I felt 100% in the car I pushed and managed to make some good times. Then when the situations were a bit more challenging and more tricky, I thought about it. The consistency was our biggest advantage and I still think we were the best performer.

“Three rallies, two wins and second place, it really isn’t that bad at all. The only not-so-bright side is the points as it is not reflecting at all what we have achieved. We don’t even need to discuss it anymore as it is clearly wrong.”

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala believes the way Ogier secured victory highlighted why the Frenchman has won eight world titles.

“Seb was magnificent and once again he was so mature and the way he was able to drive, and the pressure was there from Ott, I have to say he is very clever,” said Latvala.

“He knows the situation, and he goes fast but if the conditions are bad, he doesn’t push the car too much to the limit. This is why he has won the championship so many times.”

Ogier will rejoin the Toyota for the next two WRC rounds in Sardinia and Poland.

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Ogier makes history with record sixth Portugal win

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Eight-time world champion Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais managed to avoid drama from 22 challenging gravel stages to take a second win from his 2024 partial campaign by 7.9s from Tanak, who secured his best result of the season so far.

Ogier’s run to victory helped the Frenchman eclipse 1978 world champion Markku Alen as the most successful driver in Rally Portugal history.

Championship leader Hyundai’s Neuville produced an impressive drive to round out the podium [+1m09.8s] despite facing the disadvantage of starting first on the road on Friday.

Ogier, making his first WRC appearance on gravel since Acropolis last year, initially struggled with the balance of his GR Yaris on Friday morning. However, a big push on stage nine hauled the Frenchman from fourth to second just one second behind leader and team-mate and fellow part-time driver Kalle Rovanpera.

Friday’s eight stages proved to be hotly contested as 9.1s covered the top six after the morning loop while 5.4s split the top four heading into Saturday.

Ogier assumed the rally lead after stage 11 when Rovanpera misjudged a right-hand corner and clouted a tree which pitched his GR Yaris into a roll. The victory battle developed into a head-to-head with Tanak after Friday morning leader Takamoto Katsuta clipped a rock in stage 12 causing terminal damage to his Toyota’s rear suspension.   

Tanak had been fighting with the balance of his i20 N through Friday but was able deliver blistering pace in heat on Saturday. A stunning effort in the first pass of Amarante, 37.24km pushed Tanak into the rally lead by 0.2s over Ogier. The Estonian became the fifth different leader in 12 stages.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

However, a slow puncture for Tanak in stage 13 cost him 13.8s to Ogier who moved back into the lead he would hold until the finish. Back-to-back stage wins in Felgueiras 2 and Montim 2 for Tanak applied pressure on Ogier as the gap reduced to 7.8s.

Ogier issued an immediate response to open up the lead which he controlled through Sunday’s four stages to claim the win. The Frenchman claimed 25 points after finishing third in the Super Sunday standings which added five points to his 18 from Saturday in addition to two points from the Power Stage.

Tanak secured a much-needed 26 points which helped move him to third in the championship, ahead of M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux.

Neuville ran as high as second on Friday morning after coping admirably opening the road before falling down to sixth. Drama for Rovanpera and Katsuta helped climb the leaderboard ending Saturday in third [13 points] after Hyundai told its third driver Dani Sordo to back off to fall behind the championship leader.

Neuville held onto the final podium spot through Sunday while claiming 24 points for finishing third on Saturday, second in the Super Sunday classification alongside five points for winning the Power Stage.

This helped Neuville open up a 24-point championship lead over Evans, who endured a difficult rally. After struggling to find confidence with the set up of his GR Yaris, misfortune struck twice on Friday afternoon.

First, co-driver Scott Martin left his pacenote book on a table at the stage six time control, requiring Martin to read pacenotes from a backup version on his mobile phone, before the pair suffered a puncture on stage seven. To make matters worse, an overheating issue threatened to end their rally prematurely, but a roadside repair ensured they reached the finish to claim the six points for finishing sixth on Saturday.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux delivered an assured, mature and trouble-free performance to finish fourth overall [+1m47.8s] after ending Saturday in fifth. Sordo finished fifth overall having shown impressive pace on Friday that included three stage wins. But on Sunday the Spaniard, making his first start of the season, struggled in foggy conditions and fell behind Fourmaux.

M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster had avoided drama until his Puma retired on stage 21 after becoming beached.

Jan Solans scored a maiden WRC2 victory for the new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 after pipping Ireland’s Josh McErlean by 3.2s. Oliver Solberg, Gus Greensmith and Yohan Rossel enjoyed spells in the lead before drama struck. Solberg rolled in stage 11 after being distracted by Rovanpera’s stricken car, Greensmith found himself beached in stage 14, while Rossel was hit by a puncture and two penalties.

 



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Ogier holds rally lead, Evans hit by overheating drama

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Thick fog provided a curveball for the field, but it failed to derail Ogier as the eight-time world champion led Tanak by 10.1s after the morning’s three stages. 

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville held onto third [+1m12.1s], while M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux [+1m44.0s] leapfrogged Hyundai’s Dani Sordo [+2m44.2s] into fourth.

Toyota’s Evans completed the three stages, but an overheating issue put his rally in jeopardy, forcing Evans and co-driver Scott Martin to attempt a fix on a road section, before heading to the regroup. M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster also hit trouble when his Puma became beached in stage 21.     

Fog that intensified with every pass made driving conditions incredibly difficult for the day’s opening stage [Cabeceiras de Basto, 19.91km].

Hyundai’s Sordo was among those seeming affected by the conditions as the Spaniard lost grip of fourth overall and slipped behind Fourmaux, who was fourth fastest on the stage after battling an intermittent intercom issue.

“I tried to do a good stage but lost a lot of time at the end because we had an issue with the intercom, and I couldn’t hear Alex [Coria – co-driver]. With the weather we have, I should’ve gone mushroom picking,” said Fourmaux.

Sordo was extremely cautious through the stage losing 40.7s and initially appeared to be carrying a problem, before confirming at stage end that there was no issue with his i20 N.

“It was just very foggy and I was really bad, the car was understeering a lot. It was so difficult to drive like this,” said Sordo.  

Despite the worsening conditions, Ogier delivered his seventh stage win of the event to open up a healthy overall lead and move to the top the Super Sunday standings. The Toyota driver was 3.3s faster than Neuville, while rally rival Tanak dropped 6.2s as his victory hopes began to fade.

In the battle for the WRC2 honours, Ireland’s Josh McErlean managed to cut the gap to leader Jan Solans to 3.0s.

The thick fog rolled into the iconic Fafe [Stage 20, 11.18km], with the poor visibility testing the crews to their limits.

Tanak produced a brave drive in the challenging conditions to win the stage by 4.0s from Neuville while taking 4.5s out of rally leader Ogier to bring the gap down 13.6s.

Evans emerged from the fog 5.3s adrift to keep himself in the hunt for the Super Sunday points, sitting fourth in the final day classification.

Fourmaux extended his margin over Sordo in the fight for fourth overall to 36.0s as the latter continued to struggle with the poor visibility.

“It is difficult when you can’t see the road,” said Sordo.

Kalle Rovanpera, who rejoined the rally following his roll from the lead on Saturday, was slowest of the Rally1 runners. The Finn dropped 23.6s to stage winner Tanak after admitting that he was saving his tyres for the Power Stage given the disadvantage of starting first on the road.

Team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, who also restarted on Sunday, lost time to a hybrid issue on his GR Yaris.   

The lead of the WRC2 class changed hands as McErlean managed to beat Solans by 3.1s to move into a 0.1s rally lead, before losing that lead to Solans on stage 21 to the tune of 6.4s.

Tanak won the final stage of the morning by 1.4s from Neuville as the Estonian again took a nibble out of Ogier’s lead. The stage win was enough to haul Tanak ahead of Ogier to the top of the Super Sunday standings by 1.8s. Neuville held third in the Sunday classification ahead of Fourmaux, Katsuta, Rovanpera and Sordo. 

The rally will conclude following this afternoon’s Fafe Power Stage.



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What the teams made of WRC’s vision to improve promotion

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The WRC Promoter presented its vision to its key stakeholder group, which included Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, Stellantis and Skoda alongside representatives from the FIA during a meeting at Rally Portugal on Saturday.

Improving the promotion of the championship has been earmarked as a key goal by teams and drivers that have been critical of the WRC Promoter in recent months.

On Saturday, the WRC Promoter showcased a detailed plan to address the concerns and boost the promotion of the category. While details of all the concepts are yet to be disclosed, the Promoter announced a clear roadmap to a USA event in 2026 that includes direct investment and involvement in event promotion.

It also committed to moves to increase fan attendance at events through the development of on-site fan experiences, alongside a plan to invest in social and digital media.

The presentation was met positively by teams with the onus now on all the stakeholders to work together to deliver the goals.

Toyota – Vision offers clear direction

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was not only impressed by the strategy’s clear direction but also pleased to see more commitment from the WRC Promoter.    

“Overall what we were presented there is good things and they are really pushing for Rally USA to happen and that is one of the very important points,” Latvala told Motorsport.com.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing, Elfyn Evans, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing, Elfyn Evans, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“They have a different approach for the future to get more excitement and more engaged fans for the sport. Overall, I must say it was positive to see what ideas they have.

“For me, it seems there is a good direction now and it is clear as to what they want to do. I would say it is a bit more under control and I think it is good to have that commitment. I can see that there is more commitment coming from the promoter and that is a good thing.”

Hyundai – WRC and FIA need to be the driving force in rally

The WRC Promoter’s vision was described by Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul as a “strong catalogue of measures and action” although the former Renault Formula 1 boss is concerned that the WRC’s fragmented governance could prove a stumbling block in achieving the ultimate goals. Abiteboul called from the promoter and the FIA to have more control of all aspects of the championship.

“There was absolutely nothing wrong with any of the things that were presented and quite the opposite, with the better calendar with an event in the USA, and nothing wrong with a slightly different broadcasting strategy,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com. “It was a strong catalogue of measures and action.

“I think we need to look in general how the sport is structured and the stakeholders and see how we can have more control over the sport. I think what is really missing is the ability to steer the sport in the direction that we want.

“We need to think about the changes that need to be done so that the promoter and the FIA together can be the driving force in rally, because any of the measures we implement will fall short due to the fragmented governance we have in rally.

“If you ask me for a particular example of what I was trying to refer to, we all complain about the format of the event. We all talk to the promoter and the FIA, but we know that the format of the event is not decided by them, but the event organisers. This is quite important.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“You can see that other categories are in full control of a number of decisions from a promotion perspective and from an organisation perspective. The governing bodies are actually not in control. We need to stop being guests at our events and we need to regain control because any change that we want to implement will fall short due to the fragmentation of the decision.”

M-Sport-Ford: Now it is time to deliver

Commitment to a USA round for 2026 has been well received by M-Sport given its ties to America through Ford, which currently offers semi-factory support to the British team.

Team principal Richard Millener has been among those pushing to improve the WRC’s promotion and has been impressed by the “clear strategy” for the future.

“I think if we can deliver what was promised then I think it is really positive,” Millener told Motorsport.com.

“It was a clear strategy for the next few years on what they want to do and obviously they have announced a very clear approach to deliver the USA event, that alone won’t save everything we need to do, but it is really big bold statement to begin with and then a lot of good things to come after that.

“Now the key is to actually deliver it and now we have had some meetings with the FIA about the 2027 technical framework and there have been some good decisions about that, and we know that they have to be now finalised and delivered as soon as possible.

“We now need to be doing stuff weekly but what was shown was for me positive, and now we have to act on the words. I hope we can do that.”

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Ogier responds to Tanak challenge to lead into final day

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The eight-time world champion claimed four of the day’s nine stages, including two of the afternoon tests, to fend off a charging Tanak.

Ogier headed to service with a 11.9s lead over Tanak having started the day one second behind Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera, who rolled out of the lead on the morning’s stage 11. Tanak’s strong run was rewarded by 15 provisional championship points — three fewer than Ogier under the new system.

Championship leader Thierry Neuville held on to third [+1m11.4s] for Hyundai to pick up 13 valuable championship points, ahead of team-mate Dani Sordo [+1m25.6s] who collected 10 points.

M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux enjoyed a strong run to put himself firmly in the fight for fourth [+1m32.9s] and picked up eight points, while title contender Elfyn Evans ended the day a distant sixth [+3m23.8s], pocketing six points.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta retired from third on Saturday morning with damaged suspension. A mechanical issue pushed M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster outside of the top 10.

Tanak started Saturday afternoon on the front foot as the head-to-head with Ogier developed into an intense fight for the rally lead.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

The second pass through the now rutted Felgueiras, 8.81km test seemed to suit Tanak as the Hyundai driver claimed a second stage win, following his stage 12 success. Tanak, who described the road conditions as “really perfect”, managed to take 3.2s out of Ogier’s lead to reduce the 13.6s deficit to 10.4s. Ogier hinted that he was not at his maximum.

Neuville came the closest to beating his team-mate Tanak on the test after falling 2.4s shy. The Belgian, now driving a repaired i20N after incurring front end damage in the morning, moved 4.2s clear of the third Hyundai of Sordo in the battle for third.

There was however drama in the fight for the WRC2 as the lead changed hands once again. Class leader Gus Greensmith drifted offline at a slow right hander, resulting in his Skoda becoming beached in the sandy bank. The incident handed the class lead to Ireland’s Josh McErlean.

Stage 15, Montim, witnessed Tanak step up his pursuit of Ogier by posting another stage-winning time, although the Estonian felt his effort wasn’t anything “special”. Tanak clawed 2.6s back from Ogier from a committed run through the test that caught out Rovanpera and Oliver Solberg in the morning.

Ogier admitted that his GR Yaris wasn’t working “super well” in the stage and declared that Stage 16 would offer an opportunity to attack.

M-Sport’s Fourmaux, sitting in a comfortable fifth overall, ran Tanak close at the top of the timing screen, reaching the stage end 2.1s slower. The Frenchman was a tenth faster than Neuville, who in turn was 1.6s faster than Sordo. The latter hinted that he had been told by the team to hold his position.

Ogier delivered on his stage 16 [Amarante, 37.24km] promise in what proved to be hot and punishing for soft tyres. A threat of rain resulted in all Rally1 crews, except Evans, taking two hard and four soft compound tyres.

Ogier’s decision to save his rubber in the previous stages paid dividends, resulting in a perfect response to Tanak. Ogier reached the stage end 4.1s faster than his rival, who reported a throttle issue.

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

The gap in the fight for third overall between Neuville and Sordo was reduced to 1.5s after the latter eclipsed the former by 4.3s.

“It’s far too hot for those tyres. We were expecting rain. I was punishing those tyres all the way to the end of the last stage. It’s not good,” said Neuville.

Ogier continued his push setting a fastest stage time on stage 17 [Paredes, 16.09km] to extend his rally lead out to 13.5s, just a tenth shy of the margin he held at the start of the afternoon.

Tanak dropped 1.6s in the test after reaching the stage end fourth fastest behind Neuville and Fourmaux.

It proved to be a difficult run for Sordo who couldn’t match the pace of his Hyundai team-mates. The Spaniard described his effort as “very bad” having conceded 11.6s that put him only 9s ahead of Fourmaux, who had a sniff a fourth overall.

Tanak had one last bite into Ogier’s lead after edging the Frenchman by 1.6s in their side-by-side battle in the Stage 18 Lousada super special, held in front of a vociferous crowd that had gathered at the rallycross venue.

Neuville managed to beat Sordo in their head-to-head battle by 1.1s, while the stage was won by Fourmaux, who closed to within 7.3s of Sordo in the fight for fourth overall.

In WRC2, Jan Solans snatched the class lead from McErlean with the pair split by 8s.

The rally concludes on Sunday after four stages, comprising of 62.18 kilometres.



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Rovanpera explains WRC Portugal exit from the lead

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Toyota driver started the Saturday morning loop setting a blistering pace that resulted in a stage 10 win to open up a 6.7s lead over team-mate and fellow 2024 part-time driver Sebastien Ogier.

However, Rovanpera’s rally quickly came undone on stage 11 [Montim, 8.69km] when the Finn lost the rear of his GR Yaris and hit a tree, which then pitched the car into a roll. The car eventually came to rest on its side before Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen clambered out of the vehicle unharmed.

This was the second time in three rallies this year that Rovanpera has crashed from a leading position after exiting Rally Sweden in February. Rovanpera was victorious in his other 2024 appearance in Kenya in March.

When asked to explain his stage 11 exit, Rovanpera, who will rejoin the rally on Sunday, said: “Sweden was completely my mistake and this one was bit of a confusion with the pacenotes at the previous place [in the stage] and Jonne read the notes wrong.

“But that was not the reason for the crash but on the straight after I was maybe thinking about it a bit and I missed my braking.”

He added “Defintiely the car today felt fine so it would probably have been a better day for us today [than yesterday], so it is shame.”

In the moments after the crash, WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg made a mistake and rolled his Toksport Skoda shortly after passing Rovanpera’s stricken GR Yaris.

The Swede admitted that he was distracted by Rovanpera’s incident and it triggered his crash.

“During SS11, we came across Kalle [Rovanpera] and Jonne [Halttunen] off the road and I became distracted, missing the next note. We ran off [the] line and clipped the bank on the outside of the next corner, where we rolled the car,” said Solberg.

«Elliott [Edmonson, co-driver] and I are completely fine, but due to the condition of the car we have decided that we will not continue tomorrow (Sunday).»

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta became the third high-profile retirement from the day after damaging his GR Yaris’s right-rear suspension following a relatively small impact with a rock in stage 12 [Amarante, 37.24km]

“It was in one of the high-speed sections and I went wide on right corner and there was an immediate left and we hit the bank on the outside and I was not able to turn immediately and hit a rock or wall and I got damage to the right rear suspension,” said Katsuta, who surrendered third position.

“I don’t know exactly what was there and the car is strong enough as we survived the Safari, but for sure this kind of impact was a bit too much.”  

 
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Ogier back in front after Tanak suffers puncture

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota’s eight-time world champion Ogier inherited the lead after Rovanpera’s Stage 11 exit, only to lose the advantage to Tanak on the next test. However, a slow puncture for Tanak in stage 13 helped Ogier open up a 13.6s lead at the end of the loop.        

Rovanpera’s surprise exit, followed by a retirement for Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta, elevated Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville into the final podium spot [+54.4s], ahead of team-mate Dani Sordo [+58.0s].

M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux enjoyed a trouble-free morning to sit fifth [+1m18.4s] ahead of the recovering Toyota of Elfyn Evans [+2m39.s], with leading WRC2 runner Gus Greensmith seventh [+6m21.6s].

Friday’s blazing sunshine was replaced by overcast and humid conditions on Saturday when the crews headed to the day’s first stage [Stage 10 Felgueiras 8.81km].

Rally leader Rovanpera started to stamp to his authority on the event by delivering a blistering time that none of his rivals could match. Benefitting from set-up tweaks to his Toyota overnight, the Finn posted a time 4.2s faster than Tanak, but more importantly was 5.7s quicker than rival Ogier.

The effort transformed his overnight one-second lead into a 6.7s margin over Ogier, who admitted he was too careful in the stage.

Tanak’s impressive effort helped the Hyundai driver leapfrog Katsuta into third overall, 2.9s behind Ogier.

Championship leader Neuville also gained a position, moving into fifth overall after beating Hyundai team-mate Sordo by 6.7s.

However, the rally was turned on its head in what proved to be a particularly slippery stage 11 [Montim, 8.69km] as several drivers were caught out by the conditions.

Rovanpera’s victory hopes were brought to a premature end following a spectacular roll. The Finn lost the rear of his GR Yaris in a fast right-hander and clouted a tree, which pitched the car into a roll before the car eventually came to rest on its side up against a tree. Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen emerged from the incident unharmed.

WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg was first to pass Rovanpera’s stricken car and barely 100 metres further up the road the Swede lost control of his Toksport Skoda resulting in a series of rolls. Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson were able to clamber out of the car.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

Ogier won stage 11 [Montim, 8.69km] by 0.5s from Hyundai’s Ott Tanak to open up a 3.4s lead from the Estonian following Rovanpera’s exit.

Katsuta moved back into third as a result with championship leader Neuville fourth having leapfrogged team-mate Sordo.

The stage proved to be incredibly slippery with Toyota’s Evans the first of a number of drivers to hit trouble. The Welshman, recovering from a puncture and a pacenote issue yesterday, suffered a spin after clipping a bank at a low-speed corner.

Katsuta also dropped time to an error at the same corner before briefly stalling his Toyota.

Neuville was also caught out by the conditions as the Belgian encountered two moments during the stage. Neuville drifted wide through a left-hander and clipped a bank and lost some time to a stall. A further mistake ripped the front bumper and splitter from his i20 N.

The drama went up another notch in the rally’s longest stage Amarante [ stage 12, 37.24km]. The battle for the victory became a two-driver contest after Katsuta became the latest to hit trouble. The Japanese driver suffered an impact damaging his rear suspension that forced him to stop 10.7km into the stage.

All eyes swung to the battle between Ogier and Tanak at the front which went in the favour of the latter. Tanak produced his best drive of the rally to date to claim a stunning stage win as the Hyundai driver took 3.6s out Ogier. It was enough to become the fifth leader of the rally so far, by 0.2s from the Frenchman.

Sordo set the third fastest time, some 15.4s adrift of Tanak, to close to within 2.3s of team-mate Neuville in the fight for third overall. The damage picked up at the previous test did hamper Neuville’s ability to turn his Hyundai, requiring more use of the handbrake.

Already hampered by road position, Evans’ struggles continued as he dropped a further 24.1s, while M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster fared even worse losing more than six minutes to a mysterious mechanical issue on his Ford Puma that necessitated two stops in the test.

The rally lead changed hands after the morning’s final test as a right rear slow puncture cost Tanak 13.8s to Ogier, who won Stage 13 [Paredes, 16.09km], retaking the lead in the process.

A puncture for Rossel also gifted Greensmith the lead in the WRC2.  

Five more stages await the crews this afternoon. 



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