It was a challenging morning for the drivers, who tackled demanding stages on the first loop through Vieira do Minho, Cabeceiras de Basto, and Amarante. Most competitors opted for soft tyres, indicating an aggressive strategy for the day. The exception was Kalle Rovanperä, who went with an unusual combination of three softs and one hard, but didn’t see significant results on the timesheets.
The main battle for the lead between Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier dominated the morning. The two pushed to the limit, each taking stage wins across the three morning tests before regrouping at Exponor in Matosinhos.
Sébastien Ogier, the eight-time world champion, came out attacking and won Vieira do Minho 1 and Cabeceiras de Basto 1, reducing the gap to Tänak to just 2 seconds. But the final stage of the loop — the demanding Amarante 1 — saw Tänak respond with a stage win, extending his lead to 11.8 seconds.
“I had a good stage. I adapted well and had a good feeling with the car” said the rally leader.
Ogier’s strong run ended there, finishing only fifth in Amarante.
“I was very slow. Maybe it was the hard tyre”, he admitted.
The fight for third place between Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanperä was another highlight of the morning. The Finnish driver started the day ahead, but Katsuta pushed hard on the first two stages to move up to third. Rovanperä struck back in Amarante 1, reclaiming the position by just 0.4 seconds.
“I was on a hard tyre and we did what we could”, said the reigning world champion.
Thierry Neuville had a more difficult morning and currently sits fifth overall, 46.6 seconds off the lead.
“The car’s behaviour changed and I struggled to keep the rear in line,” explained the Hyundai driver.
WRC2: Solberg still leads despite tyre struggles
Oliver Solberg remains in control of WRC2, even though he didn’t win a stage this morning due to the reduced grip from the hard tyres. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver has a lead of 46.6 seconds over Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3 Rally2) and 50.3 seconds over Nikolay Gryazin (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2).
Overall standings after Section 5:
1. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) – 2:20:01.8
2. Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – +11.8s
3. Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – +35.8s
4. Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – +36.2s
5. Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) – +46.6s
6. Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) – +5:29.0 (1st Rally2)