Rovanperä fastest; Loeb and Ogier in trouble
A short liaison took crews to the start of a first pass through Cabeceiras de Basto. Loeb lost power, tried to reset the Ford Puma and continued in limp mode, the car failing to respond and the Frenchman dropped a further three minutes.
Ogier started the stage several minutes later than scheduled and then spun out of contention 10.8km into the special. The car came to rest with the rear axle hanging off the track in the trees. Loubet also survived a half-spin, as Neuville tried to preserve his soft tyres for the Amarante stage with the threat of imminent rain showers. He moved ahead of Loubet, however.
Katsuta closed to within 1.7 seconds of Sordo’s hold on third, as Rovanperä went quickest and trimmed Evans’s lead to 10.2 seconds.
Car 69. ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN
Trimmed Evans’s lead to 10.2 seconds. “It’s okay, It’s not so easy, I think Elfyn has better tyres and it is easier for him. I tried to have a good stage.”
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“It was okay, The rear was moving a bit. I put a soft tyre on the front and tried to keep some softs for the next stage. The long one will be a real challenge. It is going to be tough.”
Car 42. BREEN/NAGLE
“Two hards on the front. I really struggled. I tried to manage the best I can. It is not easy.”
Car 19. LOEB/GALMICHE
Stopped in the stage and then restarted in road mode and cruised through slowly. “I lost power I have around 100 horse power maybe. I stopped to try and reset. I lost the power suddenly. I reset and it was still the same. We have to check.” Loeb dropped around three minutes and then stopped after the stage to check the car.
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“I did not push at all. It is really loose. The car is very difficult to drive. We are trying to find what we need to do.”
Car 18. KATSUTA/JOHNSTON
“I expected much better grip but it was so slippery. Two times I had a moment and then I decided to back off. Normally this stage is okay. This year very slippery.”
Car 44. GREENSMITH/ANDERSSON
“We have no control over the car whatsoever. It’s the hard tyres. It was a really bad tyre choice, that’s for sure.”
Car 1. OGIER/VEILLAS
Did not start the stage on his allotted time. Spun 10.8km into the stage and came to rest with the rear of the Yaris hanging off the track in the trees. With no spectators around, the Frenchman was not able to continue. The stage was then stopped after Teemu Suninen’s had passed through for the Toyota to be removed from the track.
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“I think it was a clean and tidy run but not pushing too much unfortunately.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“Just made a small mistake. I had to restart the engine, reverse and go back. I try and enjoy this morning because this afternoon can be different.”
Car 7. LOUBET/LANDAIS
Half spin after 8.6km and lost his place in the rankings to Neuville. “I am on hard tyre and I struggled so much, I did a silly mistake again. With hard tyre in these conditions it is tricky.”
Car 6. SORDO/CARRERA
Holds on to third place by 1.7 seconds. “I try to do my maximum. I don’t have too much traction with the car and I spin the wheels all the time.”
Car 32. CAIS/TESINSKY
Restarted this morning and then lost three minutes in SS10.