Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content PoolĪfter suffering a puncture in his Skoda on Friday, WRC2 returnee and former champ Andreas Mikkelsen made major gains in his comeback mission. Oliver Solberg retains his WRC2 lead, despite some dramas for the Skoda driver. “It’s been a good day - consistent, but also super-rough this afternoon, so we were just taking it steady.” “It’s great to be here,” Solberg said after the final stage. A mystery issue which sapped engine power also struck in the afternoon’s first stage, while Greensmith posted a string of top-three stage times aboard his Fabia RS to whittle down the gap. Solberg gave away more than 10s with a spin in the Vieira do Minho opener and he found it difficult to manage the wear of his Pirelli tires. The 21-year-old Swede finished Friday with a comfortable 50.2s advantage over Gus Greensmith’s similar Skoda, but he saw that margin whittled down to 35.4s by close of play. In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg remains in control despite Saturday’s stages serving up some drama for the Skoda Fabia RS driver. The Estonian dropped time with wheel damage on Friday and languishes 2m21.8s back from the lead after an off-the-pace Saturday. M-Sport Ford’s Pierre-Louis Loubet retired close to the finish of Amarante 1 when a heavy impact damaged his Puma Rally1’s steering, allowing his teammate, Ott Tanak, to profit by seizing fifth overall. If Hyundai lets its drivers fight it out, it should make for an interesting Sunday.Įsapekka Lappi heads into Sunday’s final leg just 2.3s behind Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville.
But the Finn’s pace faded in the afternoon and he was passed by Belgian Neuville, who finished just 2.3s ahead of him and 11.1s adrift of Sordo. Lappi closed in on the Spaniard early in the day, climbing from fifth to third overall on the first pass of Vieira do Minho. Part-season driver Sordo, starting his third WRC round of the campaign, quickly diverted his attention to the chasing i20 N Rally 1 cars of his teammates, Esapekka Lappi and Thierry Neuville. Rovanpera, who’s only managed one podium in the first four rounds of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship, enters Sunday’s short closing leg 57.5s ahead of Hyundai Motorsport’s Dani Sordo.
“But, yes, a good day for me, so let’s see how tomorrow goes.” “My headphones broke on the last stage of the day, so we were lucky it was here and not in the forest!” he quipped.
Even a loss of intercom - and pace notes from co-driver Jonne Halttunen - before the day’s short final stage couldn’t put the 22-year-old Finn off his stride. He delivered further blows when the classic roads of Vieira do Minho and Amarante were repeated in the afternoon, widening the gap further in rough and dusty conditions more reminiscent of Safari Rally Kenya than Portugal. Rovanpera launched his attack from the morning’s first stage, more than quadrupling his lead before the mid-leg service halt.
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