The two Toyota drivers are the protagonists of the second day of competition in the Rally Portugal, with a push and pull that lasted all day along the 7 timed tests on Saturday. Katsuta and Sordo for third place. On Sunday the last 5 stages that will decide the challenges
Matteo Solinghi
21 May 2022 | 21:24 (modified May 21, 2022 | 21:37) – Milan
A handful of seconds separates Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans on the eve of the last day of competition of the Rally of Portugal 2022. The two Toyota Gazoo Racing team drivers are the absolute protagonists of Saturday, along the 7 special stages for a total of 164, 98 km of timed sections. The penultimate stage, Amarante 2 of 37.24 km, was decisive for the classification, with the Finnish ace overtaking the British teammate.
WRC Portugal: Ogier and Loeb out
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Between a head-and-tail by Fourmaux and a mistake by Loubet, the second special stage of the day offers the first twist on Saturday: Sebastien Ogier misjudges the ground conditions due to the rain and arrives too hard in a right-hander, crashing into an embankment on the left and thus damaging the car. In the same PS, shortly before, Sebastien Loeb accuses technical problems of his Ford M-Sport Puma Rally1. “I lost power – explains the 9 times World Rally Champion then forced to retire – I tried to stop in the special stage and solve the problem by switching off the car and trying to do a total start-up procedure, but nothing has changed”.
WRC Portugal: Rovanpera leader
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At the end of the day, Kalle Rovanpera won 3 special stages, 2 for Evans (the first and third of the day) and one for the exploit of Thierry Neuville, who with the Hyundai i20 Rally1 recorded the best time on the penultimate PS. Taking a broader look, Evans managed to trim a conspicuous gap (8.2 seconds) to the young teammate on only one occasion, while in all the others the Finn showed his supremacy, recovering in the final. In the SSS of Porto, the last timed test on Saturday, the rain stopped falling during the stage itself, thus favoring those who started among the last ones with Rally1. This explains why Dani Sordo gnawed at Takamoto Katsuta 9 ”and this also explains the excellent performance of the WRC2 (Rally2 category cars, formerly R5), with better times than the much more powerful Rally1. All in a city context where the aerodynamics of the hybrid WRC has zero or almost zero value and moreover in a special stage characterized by hairpin bends, roundabouts and jumps on a very slippery pavé, where the great power of the Rally1 does not pay in relation to traction. , already excellent on Rally2.
WRC Portugal: ranking after the second day
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The following is the classification of the Rally of Portugal after two days of competition (plus test show on Thursday evening). Sunday 22 May the grand finale with the last 48.87 km – including the final Power Stage – which will determine the final classification of the Rally of Portugal.
Kalle Rovanpera (Fin-Toyota) in 3 hours 13’46 “7Elfyn Evans (Gb-Toyota) at 5” 7Takamoto Katsuta (Giap-Toyota) at 1’50 “1Dani Sordo (Spa-Hyundai) at 1’55” 8Thierry Neuville (Bel-Hyundai) at 2’25 “9
May 21, 2022 (change May 21, 2022 | 21:37)
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