Evans regains the lead; Loeb crashes out; Ogier quickest
With fresh tyres fitted and temperatures rising, teams tackled a re-run of Lousa, but the stage surface was much rougher than expected after the rest of the field had completed their first runs during the morning.
Neuville set the benchmark of 8min 59.4sec, but drama was unfolding 20 metres from the start line when Loeb clouted the rear of the Ford Puma on a concrete barrier and tore the wheel and suspension off the car, the impact spelling instant retirement from the day’s action for the Frenchman.
Car 69. ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN
“Really rough, Much rougher than I was expecting. We need to see what we can do. We cannot push to
the limit or the car will not hold up. We will see.”
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“At the moment the only choice is a full hard tyre. Good stage in there and the car was working nice.
Road position for tomorrow is so important. Carrying two spare wheels tyres is important for stage eight.
That’s why we are carrying two spare tyres.”
Car 42. BREEN/NAGLE
“It’s 100% fixed now (dust). No visibility problems at all. I tried to be neat and tidy. I could have been a
lost faster but let’s see.”
Car 19. LOEB/GALMICHE
Stopped around 20 metres after the start of the stage. The Frenchman clouted a concrete barrier,
damaged the suspension and wrecked a rear wheel on the Ford Puma.
Car 18. KATSUTA/JOHNSTON
“It’s quite rough, Very similar to last year. Every year the second pass is rough. It is not so enjoyable
and you need to manage not to roll over.”
Car 44. GREENSMITH/ANDERSSON
“It felt okay. At the beginning I missed the line a couple of times and gave away a couple of seconds. It
took a while for the hards to get up to temperature. But it was okay.”
Car 1. OGIER/VEILLAS
Faster than Neuville by 0.7 seconds. “Let’s see what Elfyn is doing behind. The car feels better and the
grip is higher. It’s going to be a hot afternoon and tough for the tyres. Let’s see what we can do.”
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
Regained a lead of 2.1 seconds. “It was rough in there. That was the biggest thing. Quite tricky and
difficult to know how much to push.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
Front-left tyre off the rim at the end of the stage and missed out on a potential top three finish.
Car 7. LOUBET/LANDAIS
“I try to do well and I feel more comfortable with the car. It’s good.”
Car 6. SORDO/CARRERA
“Really tricky. For us, it was already before like this, slippery. I did not take any risks with a couple of
stones on the road.”
Car 21. SUNINEN/MARKKULA
Finished the first loop of stages with an 11-second WRC2 lead over Mikkelsen.
Car 25. KAJETANOWICZ/SZCZEPANIAK
Third in WRC2 after four stages.
Car 32. CAIS/TESINSKY
Stopped in SS4.
Car 34. BULACIA/MARTI
Did not start SS2.
Car 50. MEIRELES/ALVES
Stopped in SS4.
Car 57. DEJEAN/JAMMES
Dis not start SS4