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:
| 1 | Jari-Matti Latvala | 3min 05.2sec |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Henning Solberg | + 0.8sec |
| 3 | Sebastien Ogier | + 1.9sec |
| 4 | Dani Sordo | + 2.6sec |
| 5 | Mikko Hirvonen | + 3.1sec |
| 6 | Juho Hanninen | + 3.2sec |
| 7 | Thierry Neuville | + 3.3sec |
| 8 | Robert Kubica | + 5.0sec |
| 9 | Mads Ostberg | + 5.1sec |
| 10 | Andreas Mikkelsen | + 5.3sec |
| =11 | Ott Tanak | + 5.6sec |
| =11 | Kris Meeke | + 5.6sec |
| 13 | Khalid Al Qassimi | + 8.1sec |
| 14 | Elfyn Evans | + 11.1sec |
| 15 | Martin Prokop | + 12.9sec |
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.