Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) was forced to an early - and definitive - retirement in ESS3 of Rally Portugal Thursday night.
Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) leads the event.
After Ford and Citroen chose opposite strategies in regards to the starting order, everyone waited to see who'd be fastest.
While Latvala and Solberg decided to start from the last positions, Hirvonen and Loeb preferred to start first and second, considering that the dust could be an issue, especially on night stages.
Finally, no one took a real advantage as the weather conditions were unstable. The Ford drivers first went quickest in ESS3 and 4 in quite humid conditions, but then the rain got heavier and Latvala and Solberg began to struggle on a very slippery road.
At the end of the day, Latvala was in first place, 2.6 seconds ahead of his teammate Petter Solberg, and only five seconds ahead of Hirvonen.
The big disapointment of the day was for Sebastien Loeb, who crashed in ESS3. The eight-time World Champion's Citroen DS3 went off the road in a fast section, and rolled over.
Translation of the interview with Loeb: “I just didn’t hear well the note. I thought left it was right. It was like that, I went on the wrong side so I was off the line. It was just over the crest so I couldn’t see the corner. Finally when I was off the line it was too late but luckily it happens not so often. It was a completely blind corner in the dark so for sure it was more difficult. It was a misunderstanding.” Loeb and co-driver Elena were unhurt but the roll-cage was destroyed, which forced them to retire. They won't be able to be back on Friday under the Rally 2 regulation.
Driving a high modified MINI, Dani Sordo had high hopes for this rally. But the Spaniard had also to retire on ESS3 after an electrical issue forced him to run the night stage without ramp lights. Sordo preferred to stop before ESS4.
Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta) stands in fourth position (+15.7 seconds) and Thierry Neuville is fifth (+34 seconds) in his Citroën DS3.
Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) leads the event.
After Ford and Citroen chose opposite strategies in regards to the starting order, everyone waited to see who'd be fastest.
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| The heavily damaged Citroen of Sebastian Loeb. (Photo: BestofRallyLive) |
While Latvala and Solberg decided to start from the last positions, Hirvonen and Loeb preferred to start first and second, considering that the dust could be an issue, especially on night stages.
Finally, no one took a real advantage as the weather conditions were unstable. The Ford drivers first went quickest in ESS3 and 4 in quite humid conditions, but then the rain got heavier and Latvala and Solberg began to struggle on a very slippery road.
At the end of the day, Latvala was in first place, 2.6 seconds ahead of his teammate Petter Solberg, and only five seconds ahead of Hirvonen.
The big disapointment of the day was for Sebastien Loeb, who crashed in ESS3. The eight-time World Champion's Citroen DS3 went off the road in a fast section, and rolled over.
Translation of the interview with Loeb: “I just didn’t hear well the note. I thought left it was right. It was like that, I went on the wrong side so I was off the line. It was just over the crest so I couldn’t see the corner. Finally when I was off the line it was too late but luckily it happens not so often. It was a completely blind corner in the dark so for sure it was more difficult. It was a misunderstanding.” Loeb and co-driver Elena were unhurt but the roll-cage was destroyed, which forced them to retire. They won't be able to be back on Friday under the Rally 2 regulation.
Driving a high modified MINI, Dani Sordo had high hopes for this rally. But the Spaniard had also to retire on ESS3 after an electrical issue forced him to run the night stage without ramp lights. Sordo preferred to stop before ESS4.
Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta) stands in fourth position (+15.7 seconds) and Thierry Neuville is fifth (+34 seconds) in his Citroën DS3.