Rovanperä extends lead; brake woes for Breen
The re-run of Felgueiras preceded the Power Stage and Tänak continued to apply the pressure on Breen in the battle for sixth. But the Irishman started the stage after his allotted time with a serious brake issue and relinquished his position to the Estonian. He also incurred 50 seconds of time penalties and the on-stage time loss dropped him behind Loubet and into eighth.
Katsuta stemmed the flow of time to Sordo and increased his hold on third overall to 2.2 seconds heading into the Power Stage. Rovanperä clocked the fastest time and his overall advantage over Evans grew to nine seconds.
Car 69. ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN
The fastest time for the Finn and he takes a nine-second lead into the final Power Stage.
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“We are going to see. It was quite slippery in there and I was understeering. With the missing aerodynamics it will not be easy. Any points are important with our position at the moment.”
Car 42. BREEN/NAGLE
Brake issue at the start of the stage and did not begin on time. Incurred 50 seconds time penalties and then tackled the stage slowly and dropped 1min 13sec. He also slipped behind Loubet. “We will try. Unfortunately, it’s an issue that presented itself yesterday evening and it’s unfortunate that it’s appeared now.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“Still trying to keep some pressure on Craig so he has to push more.”
Car 18. KATSUTA/JOHNSTON
Managed to beat Sordo by 1.4 seconds and takes a 2.2-second hold on third place into the Power Stage.
Car 44. GREENSMITH/ANDERSSON
“It was just a high speed recce. There are quite a few ruts in there so you can carry a fair amount of speed.”
Car 1. OGIER/VEILLAS
“I think Toyota will try and make a 1-2 in the rally. My plan is to enjoy the stage and drive as fast as I can. Like always in the Power Stage, you try and do your best.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“It’s okay It was a nice stage. It was more rutted than I thought. I made some mistakes with my set-up. It was interesting for the knowledge of the car.”
Car 7. LOUBET/LANDAIS
“It is really difficult with the tyre. I have something in the steering so |I am really careful.”
Car 68. CREIGHTON/REGAN
Wheel off the Ford Fiesta in Fafe 1.