Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën) concluded the third day of rally Portugal more than one minute ahead of his nearest follower, Mads Ostberg (Ford) before the final day.
Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) was forced to an early retirement following a crash in ESS3. On Friday, the road went very tricky due to bad weather conditions, and numerous drivers went off the road, including both Ford drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg, but also young and talented Thierry Neuville (Citroen) and Ott Tanak (Ford).
The only survivor of the work drivers was Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën) who pulled away in front on Saturday. The Finn now stands 1min11s ahead of Mads Ostberg (Ford), who took second place back from Evgeny Novikov (Ford).
Petter Solberg, who was back in the race thanks to Rally 2 regulations, moved up to 9th to 4th after the two first stage of Saturday. But the Norwegian driver lost time again because of a steering problem, which dropped down to fifth at the end of the day behind Nasser Al Attiyah (Citroën).
Latvala was also back in Rally 2, but lost about 15 minutes when he suffered a fuel pressure problem in the very first stage of the day, which dropped down to 17th.
Sébastien Ogier (Skoda Fabia) leads S2000 category, and stands 8th in overall classification.
Classification after Saturday stages – Rally Portugal (WRC)
1. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) en 2h59min33.6s
2. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1min21.1s
3. Novikov-Giraudet (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1min41.2s
4. Al-Attiyah-Bernacchini (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 6min10.1s
5. P. Solberg-Patterson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 6min26.5s
6. Prokop-Hruza (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 6min47.5s
7. Kuipers-Buysmans (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 7min29.8s
8. Ogier-Ingrassia (Skoda Fabia S2000) + 8min00.2s
9. Van Merksteijn-Chevaillier (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 8min38.7s
10. Ketomaa-Stenberg (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 11min36.7s
Etc.
Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) was forced to an early retirement following a crash in ESS3. On Friday, the road went very tricky due to bad weather conditions, and numerous drivers went off the road, including both Ford drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg, but also young and talented Thierry Neuville (Citroen) and Ott Tanak (Ford).
The only survivor of the work drivers was Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën) who pulled away in front on Saturday. The Finn now stands 1min11s ahead of Mads Ostberg (Ford), who took second place back from Evgeny Novikov (Ford).
Petter Solberg, who was back in the race thanks to Rally 2 regulations, moved up to 9th to 4th after the two first stage of Saturday. But the Norwegian driver lost time again because of a steering problem, which dropped down to fifth at the end of the day behind Nasser Al Attiyah (Citroën).
Latvala was also back in Rally 2, but lost about 15 minutes when he suffered a fuel pressure problem in the very first stage of the day, which dropped down to 17th.
Sébastien Ogier (Skoda Fabia) leads S2000 category, and stands 8th in overall classification.
Classification after Saturday stages – Rally Portugal (WRC)
1. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) en 2h59min33.6s
2. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1min21.1s
3. Novikov-Giraudet (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1min41.2s
4. Al-Attiyah-Bernacchini (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 6min10.1s
5. P. Solberg-Patterson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 6min26.5s
6. Prokop-Hruza (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 6min47.5s
7. Kuipers-Buysmans (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 7min29.8s
8. Ogier-Ingrassia (Skoda Fabia S2000) + 8min00.2s
9. Van Merksteijn-Chevaillier (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 8min38.7s
10. Ketomaa-Stenberg (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 11min36.7s
Etc.