Ott Tanak is on top of the Portugal Rally leaderboard after the first long day of competition. Tanak drove his Hyundai i20 N to four stage wins and a total time of 1:41:26.2 hours. Sébastien Ogier, driving a Toyota GR Yaris, is just seven seconds behind with two stage victories. Tanak’s performance marked a significant milestone – his 400th stage win in the World Rally Championship (WRC).
A Challenging Day
Tanak faced tough competition from Adrien Fourmaux, his teammate at Hyundai, who won the first passes through Lousã and Góis. Fourmaux was just 0.2 seconds shy of taking the lead from Tanak after the morning’s final stage in Arganil. However, Fourmaux’s rally ended abruptly when he damaged his i20 N’s transmission after hitting a rock during the second pass through Arganil.
Tanak Takes Control
With Fourmaux out of the race, Ogier became Tanak’s main challenger. Ogier won the second pass through Lousã and the premiere of Águeda/Sever. Still, Tanak managed to extend his lead to seven seconds after a strong performance in Albergaria. “It’s been good,” Tanak said. “We got a clean stage, which was great. We had some issues with water in our eyes, so it was more demanding.” Takamoto Katsuta is third in the overall standings, driving the second Toyota GR Yaris, 27 seconds behind Tanak. Kalle Rovanperä is fourth, just 1.3 seconds further back, in the third Toyota.
Battle for Third
Thierry Neuville, driving the second Hyundai i20 N, is in fifth place, 32.7 seconds behind Tanak. The battle for third place is intense, with Katsuta, Rovanperä, and Neuville separated by just 5.6 seconds. Elfyn Evans leads the WRC standings but struggled in Portugal, ranking seventh overall. Evans is 1 minute and 9 seconds behind Tanak and eight seconds behind Sami Pajari, who is sixth.
The second stage of the rally is set for Saturday, featuring 122.92 timed kilometers across seven stages, including the super special stage in Lousada.