The third and final stage of the Rally Portugal opened this morning with the first two special stages of the 4 to be held to complete the route and they had the unexpected protagonist in the fog.
Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tanak shared the first two races held, namely the SS19 Cabeceiras do Basto 1 of 19.91 kilometers and the Fafe 1 of 11.18 kilometres. As mentioned, the fog played an important role in everyone’s performance, considering that it moved along the test very quickly and at times helped and at other times penalized everyone in turn.
Ogier is now headed towards the sixth success of his career in Portugal, which would make him the most successful driver ever in the event, but today – we remind you – extra points are assigned after those already given to the drivers (but not confirmed until they finish today’s stage) yesterday.
In short, it is ‘Super Sunday’, the scoring system that debuted this year and which leads all riders to push to bring home all the possible points even though some don’t really have important objectives in the general classification.
Today’s ranking sees Ogier ahead of Tanak, it’s no coincidence that both won a special, but behind them there is a third wheel. This is Thierry Neuville. The Belgian from Hyundai Motorsport, already third in the general classification, is also third in the Sunday classification, but only 2″8 behind the leader of the day and 1″1 from Tanak, who is currently second.
The World Championship leader will try to extend his lead over Elfyn Evans, fourth on the day but sixth in the overall standings. The Welshman is currently threatened by Adrien Fourmaux, fifth of the day, 3.6 seconds behind him. Takamoto Katsuta is sixth, but the Japanese driver from Toyota Gazoo Racing has been running from the start of the stage without the help of the hybrid due to a faulty electrical package.
A very calm day, however, for Dani Sordo, who decided not to take risks. Perhaps, however, he was also too cautious, because he found himself losing half a minute on SS19 and losing fourth place in the general classification to Adrien Fourmaux.
In WRC2 there is yet another change at the top, with Josh McErlean, at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, who has risen to the top of the standings with just a tenth of an advantage over Spaniard Jan Solans in the first Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 . Nikolay Gryazin remains the best placed driver in the general classification at the wheel of a Rally2 car, the Citroen C3, despite not being eligible to take championship points this weekend.
WRC 2024 – Rally Portugal – Ranking after SS20
| Pos. | Pilot/navigator | Car | Time/detachment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ogier/Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 3h21’54”1 |
| 2 | Tanak/Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +13″6 |
| 3 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1’14″2 |
| 4 | Sordo/Carrera | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1’45″8 |
| 5 | Fourmaux/Coria | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +2’21″8 |
| 6 | Evans/Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +3’33″1 |
| 7 | Gryazin/Aleksandrov | Citroen C3 Rally2 | +10’35″0 |
| 8 | McErlean/Fulton | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +10’45″2 |
| 9 | Solans/Sanjuan | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +10’45″3 |
| 10 | Joona/Hussi | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +12’16″1 |
Rally Portugal – ‘Super Sunday’ ranking
| Pos. | Pilot/navigator | Car | Time/detachment | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ogier/Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 7 | |
| 2 | Tanak/Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1″7 | 6 |
| 3 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2″8 | 5 |
| 4 | Evans/Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +9″3 | 4 |
| 5 | Fourmaux/Coria | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +12″9 | 3 |
| 6 | Katsuta/Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +17″7 | 2 |
| 7 | Munster/Louka | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +40″9 | 1 |
#WRC #Rally #Portugal #PS1920 #3way #fight #Super #Sunday
