WRC
Ogier masters Portugal mud to lead into final day
Sébastien Ogier will take a 21.9sec lead over Thierry Neuville into the final day of Vodafone Rally de Portugal after mastering a chaotic, rain-hit Saturday.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver briefly lost the lead to team-mate Oliver Solberg on the morning’s first pass of Paredes, but responded in style as conditions deteriorated through a brutal afternoon loop.
Ogier reclaimed top spot immediately after service, stretched his advantage with a superb drive through a mud-soaked Amarante and then added more time on Paredes before safely negotiating a torrential Lousada super special.
“This afternoon, with these conditions, I’m glad we finished it because it has been very demanding,” said Ogier. “There was no grip at all on the mud, it was just about going through, but we had a good day.”
The day had begun with Ogier leading Neuville by just 3.7sec, but the fight was turned upside down several times as rain swept across northern Portugal. Sami Pajari struck first on Felgueiras, Neuville reduced Ogier’s margin to 1.7sec and Ogier then hit back on Cabeceiras de Basto and Amarante.
The biggest twist of the morning came on the first pass of Paredes. Solberg, who had trailed Ogier by 18.6sec at the start of the stage, mastered the mix of rain, mud and changing grip to win the test and jump from fourth to first overall.
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Ogier admitted he had no answer to Solberg’s pace in that moment, but his response after service was immediate. He won the repeat of Felgueiras by 0.1sec from Pajari to move back into the lead, while Solberg slipped behind after dropping 4.5sec.
Worse followed for Solberg on Cabeceiras de Basto 2, where his front-right tyre came off the rim and dropped him from second to fifth overall. Neuville moved up to second after that drama, with Pajari climbing back into third.
Amarante 2 became the day’s decisive stage. In extremely slippery conditions, Ogier was 11.2sec faster than anyone else and increased his lead over Neuville to 16.0sec before adding a further 5.9sec to his buffer on the closing two tests.
Neuville ended Saturday second for Hyundai, 3.9sec ahead of Pajari, after a consistent run through treacherous conditions. The Belgian pushed hard through the afternoon but admitted there was little more he could do as Ogier pulled clear.
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Pajari completed the overnight podium, 25.8sec from the lead, after another strong day in his GR Yaris Rally1. The Finn briefly lost ground in the morning’s run through Paredes, but kept himself firmly in the fight and held third through the afternoon.
Despite a costly spin on Parades 2 Solberg recovered to fourth, 49.6sec from the lead, after setting fastest time in the rain-lashed Lousada super special. Evans ended fifth, 8.6sec further back, after a frustrating afternoon in which he lost significant time on the second pass of Amarante. Adrien Fourmaux was sixth for Hyundai, while Takamoto Katsuta completed the Rally1 top seven after a more encouraging day in his Toyota.
Dani Sordo held eighth after describing Saturday as one of his toughest days behind the wheel, while Mārtiņš Sesks moved up to ninth for M-Sport Ford. Teemu Suninen completed the top 10 and led WRC2 by just 0.9sec from Jan Solans.
It was a difficult afternoon for M-Sport Ford, with Jon Armstrong rolling on SS15 Felgueiras and Josh McErlean crashing into the barriers in the Lousada super special. Both crews were unharmed.
Sunday brings two passes of Vieira do Minho and Fafe, with the second run over Fafe forming the Wolf Power Stage.
