Evans trims Rovanperä’s lead; Tänak fastest
A first pass through the legendary Fafe stage (11.18km) would give competitors an opportunity to see the tracks before the second run counted as the Power Stage finale. Thousands of spectators lined the side of the special and fog shrouded several sections at higher altitude by the wind farm.
Tänak pinched another 4.9 seconds off Breen and Sordo gained another one-tenth of a second on Katsuta in the battle for third place. Evans reduced Rovanperä’s outright lead to 6.6 seconds, the Finn’s cause not helped by driving in deteriorating weather conditions. Suninen preserved his comfortable WRC2 lead with a cautious drive.
Car 69. ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN
“It was not easy. It was getting foggier all the time and raining a bit more. Let’s see on the second pass.
In our position it is not so comfortable to be flat out everywhere. We will try to be fast and clever.”
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“We lost the front splitter in the first stage and I am losing some aerodynamics in the fast sections. We
are here and we will continue to push. It is not so easy but anything can happen.”
Car 42. BREEN/NAGLE
“It’s nice. I have not been here four years. It’s okay if you have been here year in year out. Losing lots of
time in some places. I was reasonably happy in there.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“Let’s see. The Toyotas have been on another league. I try to still put some pressure on Breen. We can
still be close I think.”
Car 18. KATSUTA/JOHNSTON
“I am enjoying a lot (fight with Sordo). This is very nice. I need to push a lot. It is good. These kind of
things are not so often. It is fun.”
Car 44. GREENSMITH/ANDERSSON
“The stage was nice and it’s nice to drive in Portugal in different weather.”
Car 1. OGIER/VEILLAS
“I think it’s great. It is hard to see (spectators) when you focus on the road. We will try and get more of a
push on the Power Stage. We are still working on a few things on the set-up.”
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“I am just trying to do the best we can. We are not so far away. Realistically he (Kalle) needs to do
something wrong now.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“Honestly the grip is higher than I would expect. I did not use the grip but the goal for me is to make the
finish. It was quite foggy so I did not see all the spectators for the Fafe jump.”
Car 7. LOUBET/LANDAIS
“It is always nice to be in this stage. It’s a bit stiff turning left (steering). I was very cautious.”
Car 6. SORDO/CARRERA
“I am looking for Thierry. I will defend our position. I think it is important also to bring the two cars
home. The other Hyundais are flying. It is not easy.”
Car 21. SUNINEN/MARKKULA
“It was quite okay, I took it quite careful and the jumps were quite small. If we want to get Power Stage
points we need to go faster.”
Car 39. GUERRA/FERNANDEZ
Did not start the Montim stage (SS18).