SS16 – High-speed recce for the Power Stage

The first stage of the final day of competition in this year’s Vodafone Rallye de Portugal was effectively treated as a high-speed recce for the last of the event, the Power Stage and for the extra points that go with it. 

Fastest over the stage was Hayden Paddon, sadly running under Rally2 regulations after retiring on Saturday with power steering failure and in 31st place overnight. However, this would appear good news for gaining additional points from the Power Stage. 

In terms of the front-runners, it was Ott Tanak who was second-fastest on the stage, to extend his advantage over Citroen’s Craig Breen and close the gap slightly to Dani Sordo in third, to 31.3 seconds. Thierry Neuville was third fastest, 0.8 seconds quicker than leader Sebastien Ogier but this didn't eat into the M-Sport driver’s lead, which stands at 16 seconds after the stage.