Montim, Special Stage 11 of the Rally Portugal, may be one of the shortest stages of the entire timed route of the event, but it is also one of the most insidious, difficult and decisive of the second gravel race of the 2024 WRC.
Kalle Rovanpera knows something about this, until the PS11 leader of the Portuguese event and now the first retiree in the premier class of the World Rally Championship. Halfway through the test, the 2-time world champion faced a change of direction to the right that was not too pronounced, but treacherous, too quickly and ended up crashing into the trees on the outside of the same curve.
After the impact, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 number 69 began to roll over, stopping with its bottom against the vegetation and the driver’s side resting on the undergrowth. For Rovanpera it was the end of his dreams of victory, just after having started the second stage admirably with a superb SS10.
The impact against the tree was violent, but both Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen escaped unharmed from the cockpit of their car. A few minutes after getting out of their car, Rovanpera and Halttunen reported their accident to Oliver Solberg. The Norwegian, leader of the WRC2, must have been distracted, because after a few tens of meters he crashed himself, overturning and finishing his race in a very similar way to that of the 2-time WRC champion.
A sensational test epilogue, with the two leaders of WRC and WRC2 retiring in just a hundred metres. Sébastien Ogier, winner of SS11 and now the new leader of the event, took advantage of this ahead of Ott Tanak, who climbed to second, and the second Toyota GR Yaris in the standings, that of Takamoto Katsuta.
The Japanese, however, made a mistake during the special stage and ended up spinning while taking a right-hand bend. Luckily for him, Thierry Neuville also made 2 errors. First an error in braking which led him to crash slightly into a bank of dirt, ruining the rear bumper (he lost the splitter), then ending up in a spin himself.
However, Neuville recovers another position thanks to Rovanpera’s withdrawal, with Dani Sordo now completing the Top5.
With the retirement of Oliver Solberg, Yohan Rossel is the new WRC2 leader in his Citroen C3 Rally2 ahead of Gus Greensmith’s surviving Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. The two are separated by 5″9.
WRC 2024 – Rally Portugal – Ranking after SS11
| Pos. | Pilot/navigator | Car | Time/detachment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ogier/Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 1h36’24”1 |
| 2 | Tanak/Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +3″4 |
| 3 | Katsuta/Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +15″7 |
| 4 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +30″2 |
| 5 | Sordo/Carrera | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +32″9 |
| 6 | Fourmaux/Coria | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +45″8 |
| 7 | Evans/Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2’06″7 |
| 8 | Munster/Louka | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +3’01″8 |
| 9 | Rossel/Dunand | Citroen C3 Rally2 | +4’24″9 |
| 10 | Greensmith/Andersson | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +4’30″8 |
#WRC #Rally #Portugal #SS11 #Rovanpera #rolls #Today #leader
