The opening Ponte Lima stage of the 2015 Vodafone Rally de Portugal brought numerous challenges for the drivers, including fires, unavoidable, exposed rock and of course, heavy dust over the 27.53km.
The new northern stages proved to be just as challenging as those of the south, if not more so. The main issue came in the form of the 0 car, which was reportedly on fire within the stage, though the WRC drivers were being eagerly waved on by the crew, suggesting there was no immediate danger.
Sebastien Ogier was the first to tackle the stage, though it took its toll on the Frenchman’s Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R, finishing the stage with a puncture on the rear right. The slowed pace from the puncture resulted in Ogier finishing the stage with the 6th fastest time.
It was better news for Hyundai’s Dani Sordo. He was the fastest to complete the stage with a time of 19:41.5s, despite his initial concerns of the engine not running correctly.
M-Sport World Rally Team’s Ott Tanak brought his Fiesta RS WRC over the stage finish 1.3s slower than Sordo, which was a great result that served to show the pace of the all-new Fiesta, even though poor pace notes and unavoidable rocks hindered him within the stage.
Andreas Mikkelsen was the third fastest on the stage, though again he was faced with large rocks that had been thrown up by cars ahead of him. Even with a rough stage, he was able to finish just 2.8s behind Sordo.
Elfyn Evans became a casualty of the stage though, stopping at 25k due to an electrical issue. Craig Breen was forced to retire from the day’s rallying, this time due to an engine fault.