Everything as expected. Dani Sordo continues to make perfect use of his favorable starting position and has now changed gear, also setting the best time in SS4 of the Portugal Rally, the 14.30 kilometer Gois 1.
The Spanish Hyundai Motorsport driver stopped the clock in 9’07″2, thus becoming the author of the second consecutive scratch. This is leading him to move up the general ranking very quickly and he has now already entered the Top 5, a a few tenths behind teammate Thierry Neuville.
This morning’s dirt track, with the exception of SS2, presented the usual characteristics of Portuguese Fridays: whoever enters the test last has a considerable advantage. Sordo is doing a great job though, using this advantage to get into games for success.
It is also important to note the second half of Kalle Rovanpera, who was also able to take advantage of the advantageous starting position to follow in Sordo’s footsteps. The reigning world champion was thus able to recover a position in the general classification, climbing to third after overtaking Neuville.
Speaking of the Belgian, another excellent performance considering his starting position, which is the worst possible due to his position in the Drivers’ World Championship. With tooth and nail, Neuville is trying to hold on as much as possible to get to tomorrow with the possibility of still getting a good result in a weekend that sees him running on defense.
If Neuville convinces despite the obvious difficulties, Elfyn Evans is not doing the same. The Welshman of Toyota Gazoo Racing was slower than his title rival and actually lost 3 positions in the general classification, going from fifth to eighth place, 12.5 seconds behind the leader Katsuta.
In WRC2 comes the first ring from Gus Greensmith, who not only sets the best time in the category, but also becomes the new leader with a 2.7″ advantage over teammate Oliver Solberg. Skoda is on top, it must be said, although Yohan Rossel (Citroen C3 Rally2) does not seem to have any intention of giving up his grip on the two rivals from Mlada Boleslav.
#WRC #Rally #Portugal #PS4 #Sordo #flies #climbs
