The second pass through Vieira do Minho was the penultimate stage of this year’s Vodafone Rally of Portugal.
After being deprived of his second career WRC stage win in Fafe by WRC2’s Robert Virves running behind in more favourable conditions, Josh McErlean slithered through the slippery mud and gravel and laid down the gauntlet with a time of 15min 25.4sec. He was 40 seconds slower than team-mate Martinš Sesks.
Dani Sordo also dropped 17.6 seconds to Sesks but Adrien Fourmaux was on a good pace and the Frenchman was the quickest. He tightened his grip on sixth place to 14.3 seconds and then climbed to fifth when Sami Pajari stopped after 3.8km to change a puncture.
But drama was unfolding back in the stage when Sébastien Ogier was forced to stop and change a flat tyre. Thierry Neuville received the news at the stage finish and the Belgian headed to the regroup before the Fafe finale with a lead of 14.8 seconds over Solberg. Fourmaux was promoted to fourth.
Elfyn Evans was not able to match Fourmaux either and he ceded 17.9 seconds to the Frenchman, although he too moved up two positions to third after Pajari’s and Ogier’s delays. Oliver Solberg dropped 9.6 seconds to Fourmaux but increased his cushion over Evans to 12.9 seconds and grabbed second place after his rivals’ punctures.
Pajari eventually dropped 2min 49sec to the stage winner and plummeted behind Katsuta and Ogier into seventh overall. A shell-shocked Ogier completed the special with the loss of two minutes. The distraught nine-time World Champion slipped to sixth - the dream of a record eighth win in Portugal was over.
Jan Solans left the road midway through the stage for two and a half minutes and that took the pressure off WRC2 front-runner Teemu Suninen.
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“I started well but I had so many moments with the rear, especially with the braking and we had heavy rain in the middle of the stage. It was very tough.”
Car 99. SOLBERG/EDMONDSON
“It started raining so I had to have the vent open and it was taking in water.”
Car 5. PAJARI/SALMINEN
Stopped to change a puncture 3.8km into the stage. “For me, as long as I can see it was loose stones in the line. We hit it and I got a puncture. There was nothing I could do.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“I did try to change a bit my driving style and force it a bit more. I was trying to get the rotation and it working. The beginning was quite dry and then it was wet and then we had the rain for two minutes. There were a lot of things going on.”
Car 1. OGIER/LANDAIS
Forced to stop and change a flat tyre. “There were some rocks in the line. There were rocks everywhere in the beginning...”
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“Nothing is done yet but so far well done with the job and now we have to finish. We know how not to do it. It was continously raining for me from the beginning to the end and heavy rain in the middle. I drove very well and I should be very pleased with it.”
Car 55. MCERLEAN/TREACY
“It’s a lot of mud in places, just sweeping! It’s one of those days wherever you are running, it matters.”
Car 22. SESKS/FRANCIS
“A lot of mud and sand over the windscreen. It was just very rutted in places.”
Car 36. SOLANS/SAN JUAN
Off the road in the stage and lost over two and a half minutes.