If the day’s winnings depended on the number of special stages won this Saturday, Rally from Portugal, Sébastien Ogierand Oliver Solberg would be perfectly tied, with three stage wins each. That said, Sébastien Ogier distinguished himself more for two main reasons: his consistency, and his ability to shine at the right moment. Winner of SS15 by a tenth of a second, SS18 by 3,2 seconds, but above all SS17 by 11,2 seconds, the driver from Gap left the entire field in his wake. WRC In truly hellish conditions. Rain, mud, a demonstration of skill seems appropriate for such a performance.
Currently, Oliver Solberg is naturally paying the price for his off-track excursion on Friday, which already cost him dearly, but also for his numerous mistakes today despite maintaining a pace among the best. The Swede tended to over-drive when he was at the top of the timesheets, thus leaving the field open to the more experienced drivers. Because behind Ogier, there is indeed a certain Thierry Neuville in the general classification. Located less than 3 seconds behind the nine-time champion at one point during the day, the Belgian was confronted with the reality of his opponent in the rain, although the driver Hyundai Sami Pajari is putting in a very solid performance at the Rally of Portugal. He currently sits in third place on the provisional podium, having won the first special stage of the day. Adrien fourmaux He is 6th overall. Despite struggling in the mud, the rider from northern France had won two special stages today.
Yohan Rossel is disillusioned
In WRC2, things weren’t so rosy for the French. Fourth overall in the Rally2 category, Yohan Rossel had to retire on SS17, the very stage where Sébastien Ogier had just set his benchmark time. Making a slight mistake in the mud, the Lancia driver was unable to restart, stuck in the extremely difficult and unforgiving terrain.
The Frenchman was not the only one to go off the road on Saturday. Jon Armstrong paid the price for the driving rain, suffering a roll during the day, just 600 meters after the start of the special stage, while Josh McErlean notably hit the barrier during his Super Special Stage, unable to slow down his Puma while sliding in the banking.
On Sunday, there will be four special stages for each team to distinguish themselves, starting with SS20, beginning at 9:05 French time, 8:05 local time.
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WRC – Rally Portugal
Rankings after SS19
