WRC
Solberg snatches Portugal lead in rain-hit Paredes
Oliver Solberg surged from fourth to first on Saturday morning at Vodafone Rally de Portugal after a stunning time through a rain-hit Paredes stage turned the rally on its head.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver had trailed overnight leader Sébastien Ogier by 18.6sec at the start of the day’s final morning test, but mastered the changing grip better than anyone to win SS14 by 7.2sec.
That was enough to leapfrog Ogier, Thierry Neuville and Sami Pajari in one move, giving Solberg a slender 0.5sec lead at Saturday’s midpoint. Neuville was third, only 2.6sec from the front, with Pajari fourth and Elfyn Evans fifth.
Saturday had begun with Ogier defending a 3.7sec overnight lead over Neuville, but the gap was almost wiped out immediately on Felgueiras. Pajari opened the day with fastest time, while Neuville beat Ogier by 2.0sec despite a stall, cutting the Frenchman’s lead to just 1.7sec.
Ogier responded on Cabeceiras de Basto, taking 3.3sec back from Neuville as the road became increasingly rutted and rough towards the end of the stage. The nine-time world champion said the final twisty section was “where you can make differences” and warned conditions would become even tougher on the second pass.
His advantage grew again on Amarante. Light rain began to fall for the later runners, but Ogier limited the damage and was second-fastest to Solberg, extending his lead over Neuville to 8.1sec.
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That warning proved prophetic on Paredes.
Rain intensified before the 16.09km test and the stage quickly became a mix of dry, damp and polished sections. Early runners found conditions tricky but manageable, before Solberg delivered the decisive performance of the morning.
“It was a horrible stage,” said Solberg. “The flow was okay and I managed to read the grip. I love the rain, so why not? Let’s try.”
Pajari dropped 10.5sec to his team-mate and slipped from third to fourth overall, admitting the time loss was more than he expected. Neuville conceded 13.1sec, while Ogier lost 19.1sec and was left stunned by Solberg’s stage time.
“Unbelievable,” Ogier said. “I had the feeling I tried my best. It is impressive. I have no idea how it is possible, to be honest.”
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Adrien Fourmaux was sixth, 29.5sec from the lead, after showing improved pace compared with Friday afternoon. The Hyundai driver won Cabeceiras de Basto and was pleased with his performance on Paredes, although a stalled engine at the end of Amarante gave him something to monitor.
Takamoto Katsuta held seventh after a more encouraging morning in his Toyota. The Japanese driver said changes made to the car had helped him regain feeling after a difficult Friday and credited advice from 2019 WRC champion Ott Tänak to “push like hell”.
Dani Sordo was eighth for Hyundai but reported a transmission issue on Paredes, while Josh McErlean held ninth for M-Sport Ford. Jon Armstrong completed the top 10 after another impressive effort, setting third-fastest time on Paredes despite continuing to manage the physical after-effects of Friday’s power steering failure.
Saturday afternoon repeats the same four gravel stages before the Lousada super special closes the day.
