The second day of the 2015 Rally de Portugal was dominated by Ogier who has fought back from overnight sixth to second spot. Three fastest times this afternoon saw the Frenchman close the gap to Latvala from 25.9s this morning to just 9.5s.
“I pushed hard all day,” admitted Ogier this evening. “This morning, I thought there would be three cars sweeping the stages ahead of me but only one of them was still there after the first two tests. It was very slippery and we had a big scare under braking downhill on SS10. This afternoon, we went like crazy. Anything is possible now.”
“I damaged my tyres on the asphalt sections,” explained Latvala after SS13, “but we’re still in front.” The Finn has led since SS4, but will he succeed in staying clear of his charging team-mate?
With the top four covered by just 21.1s, the Portuguese fans are in for a treat tomorrow on Fafe (SS14/16, 11.15km), and the outcome could well be settled on the long ‘Vieira do Minho’ stage (SS15, 32.35km).
Ott Tanak (Ford) has fallen back from the leading quartet but enjoys a big gap to his pursuers Dani Sordo (5th, Hyundai), Hayden Paddon (6th, Hyundai) and Mads Ostberg (7th, Citroën) who are covered by 9.6s. The Norwegian was delayed by a turbo issue this afternoon.
It was another day to forget for Elfyn Evans (who had an off and a small fire on SS8), Thierry Neuville (accident, SS8). Lorenzo Bertelli (accident, SS10). Robert Kubica (Ford) and Martin Prokop (Ford) round out tonight’s top 10.
In WRC2, the morning was dominated by the new Michelin-equipped Skoda Fabia R5s in the hands of Pontus Tidemand and Esapekka Lappi who are on the overnight podium following the retirement of Al-Rajhi (off). The championship leader Nasser Al-Attiyah (Ford) responded in the afternoon to stay 49s clear despite taking a 10-second penalty. Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën) and Julien Maurin (Ford) are still fighting for fourth.
There are three French drivers on the Junior podium, led by Quentin Gilbert who is comfortably clear of Jean-René Perry and Pierre-Louis Loubet. In the Fiesta Trophy, Finland’s Max Vatanen led with one stage remaining, followed by Marius Aasen and Gus Greensmith...