A rollover on the eleventh stage pulls Kalle Rovanperä, who had been leading until then, out of the Rally Portugal: WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg also flies off
Dramatic developments on Saturday morning at the Rally Portugal, the fifth round of the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC): Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), who had been leading until then, retired on the eleventh special stage. The new leader is now his team-mate Sebastien Ogier
Rovanperä, who had led the rally just ahead of Ogier after Friday, initially extended his lead on the first stage of the day. But on the eleventh stage, “Montim 1”, the Finn’s dream of a second win of the season was shattered.
Rovanperä lost the rear of his GR Yaris in a fast right-hand bend and crashed into a tree, causing the car to roll over and come to a halt on its side against a tree. Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen survived the incident unharmed, but their hopes of victory were ended.
Curious: a few meters further on, Oliver Solberg (Skoda), who had been leading the WRC2 standings until then, also retired. The Swede was the first to pass the scene of Rovanperä’s accident. Around 100 meters later, Solberg lost control of his car and rolled over several times. Solberg and his co-driver Elliott Edmondson were uninjured, but lost their chances of winning the class.
Rovanperä’s mistake allowed Ogier to take the lead. After eleven of 22 special stages, the Frenchman is 3.4 seconds ahead of Ott Tänak (Hyundai). Third is Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota, +15.7 seconds), who is not registered for the manufacturers’ classification in Portugal.
DRAMA IN SS11 @KalleRovanpera has rolled out of the lead. Crew OK ✅WRC RallyPortugal
– World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) May 11, 2024
For Elfyn Evans (Toyota), things are still not going well at the Rally Portugal. After the Welshman was set back on Friday due to a puncture and a forgotten entry, he lost further time on Saturday morning due to a spin on the eleventh special stage.
“I got stuck on the inside at a slow junction and the car spun at slow speed. I lost time but didn’t suffer any damage. I was very surprised at how loose and slippery the track was at the start,” says Evans, who is currently seventh, 2m 06.7s behind Ogier.
Evans’ WRC rival Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) also had problems on the eleventh special stage. The Belgian went wide off the track in a left-hand bend and touched an embankment. Another mistake tore off the front bumper and a splinter from his i20 N.
“I misjudged the grip under braking, drove a bit too wide and misjudged the grip again in the hairpin. Two mistakes on one stage are not good,” says Neuville. In fourth place overall, he is currently 30.2 seconds behind Ogier.
