Sebastien Ogier took the lead in Rally Portugal after Ott Tanak’s unfortunate power steering failure dashed his hopes of a first win of the World Rally Championship season. Tanak had been leading the rally since Friday’s stage 2, fending off the eight-time world champion and six-time Portugal winner Ogier in his Hyundai.
Tanak had managed to maintain a seven-second lead after a tough 10-stage leg on Friday. Despite facing pressure from Ogier on Saturday morning and suffering a left-rear puncture, Tanak extended his lead over Ogier to 13.9s with three consecutive stage wins. However, disaster struck midway through stage 17 when a power steering failure cost Tanak 45.6s, dropping him to third place overall, 36.1s behind Ogier.
“It’s not the way you want to win any fight. We were both pushing really hard, trying to keep the pressure. It’s still not over, tomorrow is a long day,” said Ogier, acknowledging the tough competition between him and Tanak before the unfortunate turn of events for the Hyundai driver.
Before Tanak’s setback, Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera had been locked in a battle for the final podium spot with teammate Takamoto Katsuta. Rovanpera struggled with tire choice but managed to regain third place after a tough fight with Katsuta. Meanwhile, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville made a strong comeback, overtaking Katsuta to move into fourth place.
The rally will conclude on Sunday after six stages, with drivers facing a total of 72.16km to determine the final standings. The competition remains fierce as drivers push to secure their positions in the overall rankings. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Rally Portugal.
