Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën) leads rally Portugal, after the second day was shortened due to bad weather conditions. Numerous drivers, including both Ford drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg went off on Friday.
After Loeb went off and retired from the rally in ESS3 on Thursday, the Ford drivers seemed to be in a good position for the win, as Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg were standing first and second at the end of the first day. But Latvala crashed out in ES5 on Friday morning while he was leading, and Solberg also went off in ESS5.
Before those incidents, Ott Tanak (Ford) and Thierry Neuville (Citroën), 4th and 5th on Thursday evening, respectively, also crashed out on very tricky conditions.
The second loop of the day (ESS8, 9 and 10) has even been cancelled.
Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën) was the only top driver to stay on the road, and the Finn now leads the rally 36.3 secondes ahead of Evgeny Novikov (Ford) while Mads Ostberg (Ford) stands in third position, 41.8 seconds behind Hirvonen.
Latvala and Solberg will be back on the road on Saturday, thanks to Rally 2 regulation. Both can even hope to score point, as Solberg stands in 12th position (+7.35min) and Latvala stands 14th place (+11min24.6s).
Standings after day 2 – Rally Portugal
1. Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën DS3) en 1h20min01.7s
2. Evgeny Novikov (Ford Fiesta) +36.3s
3. Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta) +41.8s
4. Patrick Sandell (MINI Countryman) +3min07.2s
5. Martin Prokop (Ford Fiesta) +3min25.8s
6. Nasser Al Attiyah (Citroën DS3) +3min46.9s
7. Peter van Merksteijn Jr (Citroen DS3) +3min50.8s
8. Dennis Kuipers (Ford Fiesta) +4min41.1s
Etc.
After Loeb went off and retired from the rally in ESS3 on Thursday, the Ford drivers seemed to be in a good position for the win, as Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg were standing first and second at the end of the first day. But Latvala crashed out in ES5 on Friday morning while he was leading, and Solberg also went off in ESS5.
Before those incidents, Ott Tanak (Ford) and Thierry Neuville (Citroën), 4th and 5th on Thursday evening, respectively, also crashed out on very tricky conditions.
The second loop of the day (ESS8, 9 and 10) has even been cancelled.
Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën) was the only top driver to stay on the road, and the Finn now leads the rally 36.3 secondes ahead of Evgeny Novikov (Ford) while Mads Ostberg (Ford) stands in third position, 41.8 seconds behind Hirvonen.
Latvala and Solberg will be back on the road on Saturday, thanks to Rally 2 regulation. Both can even hope to score point, as Solberg stands in 12th position (+7.35min) and Latvala stands 14th place (+11min24.6s).
Standings after day 2 – Rally Portugal
1. Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën DS3) en 1h20min01.7s
2. Evgeny Novikov (Ford Fiesta) +36.3s
3. Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta) +41.8s
4. Patrick Sandell (MINI Countryman) +3min07.2s
5. Martin Prokop (Ford Fiesta) +3min25.8s
6. Nasser Al Attiyah (Citroën DS3) +3min46.9s
7. Peter van Merksteijn Jr (Citroen DS3) +3min50.8s
8. Dennis Kuipers (Ford Fiesta) +4min41.1s
Etc.