The Rally of Portugal has finally started on the Italian evening with the first special stage of 21 scheduled, the Coimbra of 2.82 kilometers. It was a test on asphalt, in the heart of the city, to be tackled with dirt tires.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe set the best time in the special. The Belgian crew stopped the clock in 2’37 “9, confirming once again the specialist in tortuous tests on city courses.
The Hyundai Motorsport crew is thus the first leader of the fourth WRC 2022 event, ahead of team mates Ott anak and Martin Jarveoja by 6 tenths of a second. So immediately a brace for the Korean manufacturer, but tomorrow will be the day that will truthfully outline the partial ranking of the event.
Hyundai smiles, but also M-Sport, because in third and fourth place are the Ford Puma EcoBoost Hybrid Rally1 of Craig Breen – third – and Gus Greensmith. The two are divided by just 4 tenths, while the delay from Neuville is respectively 1 “4 and 1” 8. Rounding out the Top 5 is the first Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, that of reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier.
The 8-time world champion from Gap preceded his teammate and leader of the Drivers’ Championship, Kalle Rovanpera, by 6 tenths of a second. A little further back here is another GR Yaris, that of Takamoto Katsuta, just 1 tenth from the sister of Rovanpera.
The long-awaited Sébastien Loeb, who had a resounding victory at the Rallye Monte-Carlo at the end of January, is eighth 3 “4 from Neuville, but was still able to get behind Elfyn Evans with the fourth GR Yaris. The Top 10 was completed by Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport) who is looking for a smooth weekend to prove his worth.
Out of the Top 10 Pierre-Louis Loubet, 11th, but also Dani Sordo. The Spaniard from Hyundai Motorsport, making his WRC 2022 debut just this weekend, made a mistake after tackling a roundabout – he missed the exit point – and this resulted in him just setting the 17th fastest time. His delay from Neuville is 7 “2.
Tomorrow the Rally of Portugal will resume with Special Stage 2, Lousa 1 of 12.03 kilometers, as well as the first on dirt road of the season. The first car, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 of Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen, will enter testing at 09:08 am Italian time. We also remind you that tomorrow does not include mid-day service, so the riders must be good at avoiding problems of any kind.
Rally of Portugal – Ranking after PS1
Pos. | Pilot / navigator | Car | Time / posting |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 2’37 “9 |
2 | Tanak / Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +0 “6 |
3 | Breen / Nagle | Ford Puma Rally1 | +1 “4 |
4 | Greensmith / Andersson | Ford Puma Rally1 | +1 “8 |
5 | Ogier / Veillas | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2 “1 |
6 | Rovanpera / Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2 “7 |
7 | Katsuta / Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2 “8 |
8 | Loeb / Galmiche | Ford Puma Rally1 | +3 “4 |
9 | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +3 “5 |
10 | Fourmaux / Coria | Ford Puma Rally1 | +4 “4 |
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