Welshman Elfyn Evans made a strong start to the 58th Vodafone Rally de Portugal by setting the fastest time in the Figueira da Foz Super Special Stage – the opening test of the event. The Toyota driver was the quickest over the 2.94 km urban course, set against the Atlantic backdrop, finishing just two tenths of a second ahead of Ott Tänak (Hyundai) and Sébastien Ogier (Toyota).
On Friday, the drivers face 146.5 competitive kilometres across 10 special stages, on the demanding and technical gravel roads of Mortágua, Lousã, Góis, Arganil, Águeda/Sever and Sever/Albergaria.
“Tomorrow we’ll head into the unknown,” said Evans shortly after his run in Figueira da Foz, alluding to the tyre management challenges ahead. “I’ll try to enjoy the rally and, if I can focus on my driving and feel comfortable in the car, that’s what matters most to me.”
Tänak, just 0.2s behind and tied with Ogier, commented: “Yes, we had more fun than last year when we had to save the tyres. It’s a bit of a ‘Mickey Mouse’ stage, but you still have to stay fully focused. It’s a good start to the rally.”
Sébastien Ogier, also third-fastest on the timesheets with the same time as Tänak, added: “The stage went well. The main thing was to stay out of trouble. Tomorrow will require determination, concentration and the right setup to get into a strong rhythm.”
Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville, both in Hyundais, completed the top five.
In WRC2, Russian-Bulgarian driver Nikolay Gryazin (Skoda) was the fastest, finishing inside the overall top 10. He was 1.2 seconds quicker than Kris Meeke (Toyota) and Gus Greensmith (Skoda), who posted identical times. In a stage where margins were tight, Roberto Daprà (Skoda) was 1.3s off the lead, while Yohan Rossel (Citroën) was fifth-fastest in WRC2, 1.4s down.
The opening day of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal was also marked by two key moments of connection between the fans and WRC stars: the morning Shakedown in Baltar and the always emotional ceremonial start in Coimbra, where thousands of fans gathered to greet their idols.
Friday marks the first full day of competitive action, with 10 special stages and 146.5 km against the clock – the longest leg of the rally. The itinerary includes two runs through the iconic stages of Mortágua (14.5 km), Lousã (12.8 km), Góis (14.3 km) and Arganil (18.7 km), followed by two brand-new stages: Águeda/Sever (15.0 km) and Sever/Albergaria (20.2 km) – the latter a nod to the past, having featured in the 1974 edition under the name Monte Telégrafo.
Standings at the end of Section 1
1º Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) com 02:18,1
2º Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), a 0.2 s
3º Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai I20N Rally1), a 0.2s
4º Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai I20N Rally1), a 0.4s
5º Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai I20N Rally1), a 0.6s
6º Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), a 1.3s
7º Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), a 1.9s
8º Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), a 4.1s
9º Nikolay Gryazin/ Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, a 4.3s (1º Rally2)
10º Martins Sesks/Renãrs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1), a 5.0s