Latvala fastest at Portugal shakedown

Jari-Matti Latvala was fastest through this afternoon’s Vale Judeu shakedown test at Rally de Portugal.

The Finn posted fastest time in a Volkswagen Polo R on his second run through the 4.98km test.

He had a comfortable 1.9sec margin over team-mate Sébastien Ogier until Henning Solberg came within 0.8sec of usurping Latvala on his fourth run in a Pirelli-shod Ford Fiesta RS.

The sun was shining throughout the session, but after days of rain the stage remained wet in places.

“The car felt very good I was very happy with its general handing," Latvala told wrc.com. “The stage was not exactly muddy but the ground was a bit damp, so we were running the soft tyre and the grip was good in these conditions.”

Times for the top drivers were:

Behind Ogier, Dani Sordo was fourth on his first gravel outing in Hyundai’s i20. The Spaniard’s first run was hampered by a handbrake problem, but after repairs in service he set the quickest time of Hyundai’s three-car squad.

Mikko Hirvonen and Juho Hanninen completed the top six.

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