M-Sport seemed enveloped in a black cloud from which its drivers could not escape, as the Ford Puma Rally1 seems to be faster than ‘tight’ when it comes to preventing dust from entering the cabin. Nevertheless, the ray of light that is always Sébastien Loeb has shone brightly again on SS4 of the Rally de Portugalavoiding these problems and scoring a scratch that allows him to be at the forefront of the test. Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville complete the provisional podium of the Portuguese event.
The morning loop on Friday started with a scratch and the leadership of Elfyn Evans. Benefited by its starting position, the Welsh driver managed to prevail in SS2 over a surprising Gus Greensmith, so both were placed first and second overall. Ott Tänak fell to third place, while Thierry Neuville fell suddenly to fourth place, weighed down by having to clean the track. A scenario in which the leader Kalle Rovanperä suffered more than anyone by being the first to jump into the stage.
Although the dust in suspension partially counteracted the cleanliness factor, Evans did not give up his efforts and repeated the scratch in SS3. In this case ahead of Ott Tänak, in a section that once again offered minimal differences. Of course, within M-Sport they lived with some concern. First it was Craig Breen who reported at the finish line that the dust was creeping into his Ford Puma Rally1, preventing you from seeing well. Immediately afterwards, Sébastien Loeb with a problem in the passenger door of him arrived with the interior of the car full of sand.
Like a plague Gus Greensmith also claimed to have too much dust in the cabin at the finish of his Puma Rally1. On his side, Pierre-Louis Loubet missed a junction and lost some very valuable seconds. All in all, the concerns of the team led by Richard Millener weighed a little less on SS4. Among other things because Sébastien Loeb gave the first blow on the table with a brilliant scratch that placed him in front of the general classification at the end of the morning loop. A hard-working Thierry Neuville finished in his wake, despite taking care of the tires.
Craig Breen complained again at the finish line about the dust that crept into his Ford Puma Rally1 during the stage, but this incident was somewhat overshadowed by the good work of the nine-time WRC champion. Of course, the margins are very narrow and Sébastien Loeb barely has a 0.5 second lead over Elfyn Evans. The Welshman did not finish taking advantage of the starting order in this section, suffering from irregular tire wear. For his part, Thierry Neuville completes the provisional podium ahead of Ott Tänak and Kalle Rovanperä, as they are both tied on time.
Sébastien Ogier is sixth at 6.7 seconds from the head, certifying the great equality prevailing in the premier class of the WRC at this start of the rally in Portugal. A little step behind appear Craig Breen, Takamoto Katsuta, Dani Sordo and Gus Greensmith. From the thirteenth absolute place, Teemu Suninen leads the WRC2 class with an 11-second lead over Andreas Mikkelsen. Kajetan Kajetanowicz is third in the silver category. For his part, Jon Armstrong and Laauri Joona fight for the lead in WRC3 Junior after a very complex start to the rally for the rest of his rivals.
Classification after SS4 of the 55th Rally de Portugal
The Rally of Portugal continues this Friday (13:31h) with the dispute of the the last five sections of the first stage. Pilots and co-pilots will dispute 71.59 kilometers against the clock on this first day.
Photos: M-Sport / Toyota Gazoo Racing / Hyundai Motorsport