WRC: Rally de Portugal

Steve · Mar 30, 2012

Rally Portugal leader Mikko Hirvonen criticises decision to cancel stages due to bad weather (AUTOSPORT.com)

By David Evans | Friday, March 30th 2012, 20:36 GMT

Rally of Portugal leader Mikko Hirvonen has criticised the decision by event organisers to cancel Friday afternoon's three stages due to the heavy rain and fog in the area.

Amid claims by officials that there is not likely to be any further cancellations in spite of more bad weather predictions for the rest of the Faro-based event, the Finn believed that the road conditions had not been unduly dangerous.

"Why did we cancel?" he said. "Sure, it would have been difficult, but I would like to have gone and done a couple more stages. It wasn't dangerous for the drivers. It was very, very difficult, but it wasn't dangerous.

"I understand the other side, if it's difficult to get the ambulance or something into the stage, then I understand it. But the road was so difficult and you had to be driving so slowly all of the time that in that way for the drivers it wasn't dangerous."

The weather made for an exceptionally tough morning for the organisers of the Faro-based event, with the field split up when a watersplash became flooded and left half of the field stranded before stage seven.

Fuel had to be driven out to those crews in order for them to make it back to the Faro service area.

While the organisers waited for the cars at the back of the field to return, Hirvonen and the leaders were held in service for an hour before the decision was taken to cancel the rest of the day.

Rally of Portugal clerk of the course Pedro Almeida said: "I appreciate his [Hirvonen's] opinion, but if he was involved in an accident and, of course, I hope this isn't the case, but I think he would like to have the ambulances and the doctors near to him as soon as possible. Under these conditions today, it would take very long for them to get there.

"There is a limit, I must have ambulances and doctors in the stage to get to the accident place in a maximum of 10 minutes and under these conditions that would have been impossible - this is why we cancelled the stages."

Almeida added that he is confident the storms which have hit the event won't force any more cancelled stages.

"We don't estimate so many problems in tomorrow's area," he said. "We sent a crew to check the conditions of the roads and the stages are in a better condition and we are sure everything will be okay.

"It will be slippery on the roads tomorrow, but not so bad as today. Today the roads were down to the bedrock, because don't forget we don't have rain in this area for three months and then today the storm comes. The weather is expected to be the same until Sunday, when the storms will move north through the country."
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Steve · Mar 30, 2012

Just Patrik Sandell talking about the first two days.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAqivNKc0oM]Rally de Portugal 2012, day 1 & 2 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Ford aces back in action in Portugal (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Ford World Rally Team stars Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg are back in action on day three of Vodafone Rally de Portugal following their troubles on round four of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia yesterday.

Latvala and Solberg both took it in turns to lead the event but both failed to complete Fridayâ€™s route, which was savaged by fog, mud and rain.

Finn Latvala, whose car skated off the road after hitting a rock on stage five, restarted third on the road on Saturday with a 15-minute time penalty after repairs were made to his damaged Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

â€œI turned into a left corner and saw a rock on the driving line,â€ explained Latvala. â€œI didnâ€™t have it marked in my pace notes and I tried to avoid it, but couldnâ€™t. The car touched the rock with the front left and the impact damaged the suspension. The front wheel bent into the wheel arch and the car spun backwards off the road and down a small bank on the right. We had big hopes. We were first and second and had a good opportunity to close the gap on our rivals in the championship. Now that has gone.â€

Solberg runs fifth on the road with a 10-minute penalty. His Fiesta has a replacement clutch fitted after the original was damaged when he tried to regain the road following his off on stage six.

â€œThick fog made visibility virtually zero,â€ he said. â€œI approached a slow right hand corner and braked as normal, but the car slid wide and dropped into a small ditch. I tried to get back on the road but the clutch burned out in trying to do so. Itâ€™s so frustrating because I wasnâ€™t pushing hard. Survival was my only aim and I felt under control, but sometimes even when you ease off these things can happen. Now I need to reach the end of the rally, see if I can get back into the points and try to take some bonus points in Sundayâ€™s Power Stage,â€ said Solberg.

Ott Tanak will also restart following his retirement on Friday. However the Estonian was seven minutes late leaving morning service in Faro while his M-Sport team worked to replace a faulty propshaft on his Fiesta.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

It is still raining in southern Portugalâ€¦ (best-of-rallylive.com)

Heavy rain continued throughout the night, and itâ€™s still falling this morning as crews prepare to start the third day of the 2012 Rally de Portugal. The Michelin drivers have once again opted for â€˜S1â€™ soft-compound tyres.

31/03/2012 11:00 | by HervÃ©

It is still very wet in the Algarve. The sky is dark and the thermometer reads a low 13Â°C. Poor weather is once again expected all day, and the forecasters even say it will worsen towards the end of the afternoon!

Todayâ€™s menu is based on two visits to a loop of three classic Portuguese stages: Almodovar (26.22km), Vascao (25.29km) and LoulÃ© (22.57km).

After damaging his radiator in a water splash on SS5 yesterday, Thierry Neuville (CitroÃ«n/Michelin) will be first on the road today, while Ott Tanak (Ford/Michelin) will start in third position after â€˜handingâ€™ the honour of driving second on the road to Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford/Michelin). â€œI spent five hours in a forest yesterday, so Iâ€™m just glad to be back in the rally today,â€ commented the Finn who is still deeply affected by his error on Friday morning.

Petter Solberg (Ford/Michelin) is fifth in todayâ€™s start order but the two factory Ford drivers can count themselves lucky that yesterday afternoonâ€™s three stages were cancelled. It means they have only taken penalties of five and 10 minutes respectively. Solberg is consequently 13th overall (7m35.9s behind Hirvonen), while Latvala (16th) is 11m24.6s adrift of the leading CitroÃ«n/Michelin. Their favourable start order should enable them to move up the leaderboard today.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Sandell is still 4th, Araujo still 11th. Sordo, despite wining this stage and gaining quite a bit of time while winning all 3 yesterday, drops to 14th because Solberg rejoined today under Rally 2 rules, like Dani did yesterday, but with a smaller time penalty than Dani received so in terms of overall time Solberg is ahead of him at this point by just over a minute.

SS11: Sordo fastest as roads dry (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS11, Almodovar 1 (26.22 kilometres)

Stage description:
By WRC Team MINI Portugal co-driver Miguel Ramalho: â€œThis stage is narrow, twisty and very technical. The big problem can be the sun in the morning when it is lying low. There are a lot of crests and corners and you need a lot of concentration in the pacenotes from co-driver and the driver and maybe bravery for the driver too.â€

How the action unfolded:
Dani Sordo has made it stage win number four on Vodafone Rally de Portugal following another strong performance in his latest-specification MINI John Cooper Works WRC.

In increasingly dry conditions, Sordo, who is running third on the road, completed the run in a time of 16m30.8s, 8.1s faster than Jari-Matti Latvala, who has restarted under Rally 2 regulations following his retirement on Friday.

â€œThe stage was really nice, the balance on the car was really good,â€ said Sordo.

Latvala said: â€œWe came through without any problems. I had to choose a pace for safety. If itâ€™s conditions like now itâ€™s going to be very, very difficult.â€

Petter Solberg, who also restarted under Rally 2 rules, was third quickest, 0.5s behind his Ford team-mate Latvala. â€œThereâ€™s some understeer from the car. The main goal now is to finish in at least fourth, but itâ€™s going to be very difficult. â€

Adapta Fiesta pilot Mads Ostberg has snatched second place from Evgeny Novikov after going fourth fastest. He said: â€œWe tried a bit of a push without risks. Itâ€™s getting quite dry but in some corners you have mud so there are a few surprises.â€

Novikov, who now trails Ostberg by 11.4s following his eighth-best time, said: â€œThe plan was to push if it was raining but itâ€™s not raining, itâ€™s good grip now. I donâ€™t know the stages so well so I donâ€™t want to push. I want to keep my podium position.â€

Citroenâ€™s Mikko Hirvonen was fifth fastest but has extended his overall lead to 41.7s. However, he reported that his soft compound Michelin tyres, designed for damp surfaces, had worn badly in the drying conditions. â€œThe car was moving - it was not easy to drive,â€ he said. â€œItâ€™s going to be very hard for the tyres now.â€

Thierry Neuville is opening the road in his Citroen Junior World Rally Team DS3 WRC. The Belgian reported an absence of standing water but said the mud caused by recent heavy rain had created a slippery surface in places.

Ott Tanak, running out of order after leaving morning service late while his mechanics replaced a faulty propshaft, admitted to reducing his pace after striking a rock five kilometres into the run, which he feared might have damaged his M-Sport Fiesta. He set the sixth quickest time.

Martin Prokop said his Fiestaâ€™s engine wasnâ€™t running at full power following a possible electrical issue, which occurred on the road section heading to the stage.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Sordo finished this one 2nd, and even though he had a tire puncture, behind Solberg by only 4.4sec. Sandell came in 11th and Araujo 14th. Sandell keeps 4th, Araujo drops to 12th and Sordo pulls back up to 13th.

SS12: Solberg sets the pace (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS12, Vascao 1 (25.29 kilometres)

Stage description:
By WRC Team MINI Portugal co-driver Miguel Ramalho: “There is one watersplash and some Tarmac for about two kilometres. The first part is technical but the second part of the stage is very fast. There are some crests but not so many.”

How the action unfolded:
Petter Solberg’s bid to make up lost ground on Vodafone Rally de Portugal is on course after the Norwegian clocked the fastest time in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

“I’m pushing a bit,” he said. “The set-up for the first stage was not working but for this one it was perfect - it is what we were expecting. I’m happy with the time so we need to stay focused, not make any mistakes and get to the podium. I would like to get fourth place.”

Dani Sordo completed the stage with a front-right puncture on his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Nevertheless he managed to record the second fastest time, 4.4s down on Solberg. “It is really slippery all the time in the mud,” said the Spaniard. “But I’m not taking any real risks. I’m happy. The car is really good. I also feel really good.”

Jari-Matti Latvala was third quickest in his factory Fiesta, 9.1s down on Solberg. He said: “We have a job to do and that’s to score points. Dani Sordo is going quite quick but there is no point to make good stage times. We drive at 95 per cent.”

Evgeny Novikov said a misfire developed in his Fiesta after he crossed a watersplash. He is continuing to lose time to second-placed Mads Ostberg as a result.

Citroen factory ace Mikko Hirvonen continues to lead round four of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia after setting the fifth fastest time. His lead over Ostberg stands at 43.0s with one stage of the morning loop remaining. Ostberg was sixth quickest, 27.6s slower than Solberg.

Running first on the road in his Citroen DS3 WRC, Neuville, who was seventh quickest, said: “Some places there was a little bit more mud than the first stage and that was good for me being first on the road. But later it was drier and we lose time.”
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Stage 13, last before the break, then the same 3 stages run again.

Sordo finished 2nd again, Sandell 9th, Araujo 14th, no position changes for the MINI drivers.

SS13: Solberg continues to charge (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS13, Loule 1 (22.57 kilometres)

Stage description:
By WRC Team MINI Portugal co-driver Miguel Ramalho: â€œThis is he worst stage in terms of surface. Itâ€™s very, very hard with some parts with a lot of rocks. The loose gravel is not so much and on the second pass it will be very tough.â€

How the action unfolded:
Petter Solberg is continuing to set the pace on day three of Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Driving a Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Solberg was 9.1s quicker than the MINI John Cooper Works WRC of Dani Sordo.

â€œItâ€™s very difficult in the mud and the braking but itâ€™s been a good morning, the set-up worked for the two last stages,â€ said Solberg.

Sordo said: â€œI try to keep the tyres well but it was difficult because there were places where it was more abrasive in this stage. But Iâ€™m really happy with the speed.â€

In the battle for the overall lead, Mads Ostberg lost ground to first-placed Mikko Hirvonen when an engine problem developed in his Adapta Fiesta after approximately 10 kilometres.

â€œWe gained quite a lot in the beginning but we have an engine problem and the car dropped onto three cylinders,â€ said Ostberg. â€œI had to use a lot of revs to stop it from happening but we struggled too much.â€

Ostberg was seventh quickest, 32.0s slower than Solberg, and trails Citroen pilot Hirvonen by 47.3s in the overall standings heading to the midday service halt in Faro.

Evgeny Novikov completed the stage with his Fiestaâ€™s rear protection guard dragging on the road. The Russian said the misfire that had developed on the previous stage continued to affect his ultimate pace.

Jari-Matti Latvala admitted to slowing down nearing the stage finish after his rear tyres began to lose grip. He was third quickest in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Thierry Neuville, who is opening the stage in his Citroen, said: â€œIt was much better, I was much more confident. I was understeering too much on the last two stages. I tried to slide the car a little more in this one.It felt better.â€
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Video highlights from yesterday. Wow, definitely not the dust clouds they were worried about!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9x_moHesOE]Leg 2 Highlights (Fords crash) - 2012 WRC Rally Portugal - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Steve · Mar 31, 2012

I just found out that Sebastian Loeb's new ELMS team is racing Sunday in France and Loeb left Portugal to be there for the race. Maybe that's the real reason he crashed out of the rally...

Steve · Mar 31, 2012

I love Novikov's comment: "If it were to rain, for sure I will push, because in the rain it is much more slippery and much more difficult for everyone. It's more about driving than about pacenotes."

Hirvonen to the underdogs: Donâ€™t even think about itâ€¦ (MaxRally.com)

31st March 2012

There was plenty of playful banter at the Friday night press conference in Portugal as Evgeny Novikov and Mads Ostberg pondered their chances of hunting down Mikko Hirvonen and fighting for a sensational underdog victory. But when the action resumed on now less saturated stages, Hirvonen put the upstarts back in their place.

Ostberg zipped up to second ahead of Novikov on the opening stage of the morning, as the Russian decided that he wasn't going to do anything heroic unless the rain came back.

"To be honest, the plan was to push only if it was raining - but it was not raining, it was good grip now," said Novikov. "I don't know these stages so well so I can't afford to take risks and make mistakes. If it were to rain, for sure I will push, because in the rain it is much more slippery and much more difficult for everyone. It's more about driving than about pacenotes."

With second claimed, Ostberg's sights were firmly on Hirvonen, but he would soon get frustrated.

"He's a bad boy - he probably has my splits and every time I go quicker, he takes a bit back. It kept going like this. It's not so easy with this Mr Hirvonen guy..." said Ostberg. "I'm not hoping he makes a mistake, I want to catch him if possible. But also we are in quite a safe podium position now and it's really important to have the podium as well. We'll try to catch Mikko but at the moment it's not too easy - we need more rain."

Both Ostberg and Novikov then found themselves hampered by slight misfires - something that also afflicted several other Ford runners, and Hirvonen would end the loop 47 seconds clear of Ostberg and 1m09s ahead of Novikov.

"I'm not at the maximum all the time," said Hirvonen. "If everything goes well, this pace is alright."

None of the leaders won a stage on the first loop - as all the fastest times went to drivers charging back under Rally 2. Petter Solberg was the most successful among them. Quickest on SS12 and SS13, he is already back up from 12th to ninth, and fifth - or perhaps even fourth - looks achievable today. Dani Sordo, now 13th, took another stage win on SS11, while Jari-Matti Latvala is 15th.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Looks like Dani's doing his best to break the new spec car on Stage 14. He lost a lot of time but no word yet as to what happened.

Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Sordo's car had a broken exhaust. He said "I had to stop It was impossible to continue with the fumes in the car."

Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Sandell is stuck out on the stage somewhere, looks like he went off.

Steve · Mar 31, 2012

SS14: Problems for Latvala, Sordo (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS14, Almodovar 2 (26.22 kilometres)

Stage description:
By WRC Team MINI Portugal co-driver Miguel Ramalho: â€œThis stage is narrow, twisty and very technical. The big problem can be the sun in the morning when it is lying low. There are a lot of crests and corners and you need a lot of concentration in the pacenotes from co-driver and the driver and maybe bravery for the driver too.â€

How the action unfolded:
Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala have both hit trouble on stage 14 of Vodafone Rally de Portugal, round four of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.

Sordo had to stop when the inside of his MINI John Cooper Works WRC filled with exhaust fumes. The Spaniard said he removed part of the rear bumper and his co-driverâ€™s side window to allow he and navigator Carlos del Barrio to breathe properly.

Latvalaâ€™s Fiesta stopped approximately 17 kilometres into the stage with a reported fuel pressure problem. He eventually reached the stage finish following a lengthy delay.

Petter Solberg has shot up from ninth to sixth position in his factory Ford following his fastest stage time. He said: â€œI went for the hard [compound] tyre, itâ€™s dry and the road is cleaning quite a lot. I had a good run with no problems.â€

Armindo Araujo reported nudging his MINIâ€™s front-right tyre during a minor impact, while Jari Ketomaa said he might be forced to retire following a troubled stage.

â€œSomething has broken completely from the rear, there are no brakes,â€ said Ketomaa. â€œItâ€™s those or the rear driveshaft or something. I donâ€™t think we can carry on. I donâ€™t have brakes. Itâ€™s just not possible.â€

Thierry Neuville said the rear of his Citroen was â€œsliding too muchâ€ as a result of his decision to use soft-compound tyres at the rear through the stage, which was held in dry conditions. Nevertheless the Belgian was second fastest, one position ahead of event leader Mikko Hirovnen whose advantage out front in his Citroen DS3 WRC is now 52.1s.

Nasser Al-Attiyah, in a Qatar World Rally Team Citroen, has moved ahead of Martin Prokop into fourth overall after the Czechâ€™s Fiesta suffered a repeat of the power loss problems experienced this morning.

Patrik Sandell has stopped in the stage in his MINI. Mads Ostberg, running behind the Swede on the road, suggested Sandell had damaged the right-rear of his car hitting a tree on a narrow left-hand bend over a crest. Ostberg was fifth quickest and remains in second position in the overall standings ahead of Russiaâ€™s Evgeny Novikov.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

World Rally drivers worry about tyre shortage as more rain looms in Portugal (AUTOSPORT.com)

By David Evans | Saturday, March 31st 2012, 14:47 GMT

There is growing concern that a return to heavy rain for the final leg of the Rally of Portugal will leave the leading crews short of suitable tyres.

A new regulation for this year permitted a division in the allocation of tyres, with 10 of the 40 covers each driver is permitted in Portugal being of the soft rather than hard compound. The crews used two sets of wets yesterday morning and this morning, and rally leader Mikko Hirvonen admitted he was hoping the inclement weather would end.

"If it's raining tomorrow then it's simple - we don't have any tyres," he said. "This really is a pretty silly rule that we come here with the soft tyres, but not enough of them to get through the event. We should have enough of the right tyres to drive for the whole rally."

Current second-placed driver Mads Ostberg says he will be fine through the final day.

"We have some good tyres from yesterday that are in good condition and then we have two new events to put on as well," he said.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Not a good day for MINIs in Portugal. Sordo 2nd on the stage but having new problems since the exhaust system "fix".

SS15: Home hero Araujo retires (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS15, Vascao 2 (25.29 kilometres)

Stage description:
By WRC Team MINI Portugal co-driver Miguel Ramalho: â€œThere is one watersplash and some Tarmac for about two kilometres. The first part is technical but the second part of the stage is very fast. There are some crests but not so many.â€

How the action unfolded:
Armindo Araujoâ€™s bid to score points in the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia on Vodafone Rally de Portugal is over after the local hero ripped the front-right wheel off his MINI John Cooper Works WRC.

Araujo, the double Production Car world champion, was in 11th overall when he stopped almost 14 kilometres from the start of the stage in his WRC Team MINI Portugal entry.

Out front, Mikko Hirvonen maintains his healthy advantage aboard his Citroen DS3 WRC. The Finn was sixth quickest and now heads Mads Ostberg by more than one minute in the overall classification.

â€œI had a good rhythm and it felt comfortable,â€ said Hirvonen. â€œI would like to push hard but you are avoiding mistakes the whole time. The car feels really good and the pace is fine.â€

Petter Solberg claimed the fastest stage time in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC following a charging drive. His performance puts him ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Martin Prokop into fourth overall.

â€œI donâ€™t think I breathed through the whole stage! It was a fantastic stage - some bad rocks but I drove round them,â€ said Solberg. â€œThe car is fantastic. It is really good fun now. I am so angry about yesterday.â€

Dani Sordo was 4.5s slower than Solberg in his MINI, despite a build up of dust in his Prodrive-run car. â€œIt is really difficult to concentrate with the dust in the car,â€ said the Spaniard. â€œThe exhaust broke and it came to the bumper and fumes came into the car. I repaired it so itâ€™s okay but now, itâ€s only dust.â€
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Sordo wins another stage!

SS16: More frustration for Solberg (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS16, Loule 2 (22.57 kilometres)

Stage description:
By WRC Team MINI Portugal co-driver Miguel Ramalho: â€œThis is he worst stage in terms of surface. Itâ€™s very, very hard with some parts with a lot of rocks. The loose gravel is not so much and on the second pass it will be very tough.â€

How the action unfolded:
Petter Solberg has lost fourth position on Vodafone Rally de Portugal after his Ford Fiesta RS WRC suffered powersteering failure on Saturdayâ€™s final stage, the 22.57-kilometre Loule test.

Solberg completed the run with his carâ€™s rear sump guard missing. However, that was the least of the Norwegianâ€™s worries after it took him a minute more than stage winner Dani Sordo to complete the test.

â€œIâ€™ve got no power steering,â€ said Solberg, who slips behind Nasser Al-Attiyah in the overall classification. â€œIt happened just before the stage. Iâ€™ve probably lost my fourth place. Itâ€™s another day tomorrow.â€

Sordoâ€™s fastest time came despite the build up of dust inside his MINI John Cooper Works WRC, which has been occurring since his co-driver Carlos del Barrioâ€™s side window fell out on stage 14.

â€œI tried to push really, really hard and do a good time,â€ said Sordo. â€œIâ€™m happy with the car but I think we need to fix the window! It fell out on a fast section of a stage.â€

Martin Prokop completed the stage with the soft compound rear tyres on his Fiesta badly worn. â€œWe had no traction at all, it was crazy,â€ said the Czech.

Event leader Mikko Hirvonen completed day three with the fifth quickest time in his Citroen DS3 WRC. His advantage over Mads Ostberg out front increases to 1m11.9s.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Portugal day 3 review: Day of the number twos (MaxRally.com)

31st March 2012

They're supposed to be the support acts to Sebastien Loeb and Jari-Matti Latvala, but on Saturday in Portugal, Mikko Hirvonen and Petter Solberg were getting all the attention.

At the front, Hirvonen was producing a masterclass in doing just enough in tricky conditions to win a rally. The Finn has not set a single fastest stage time all weekend, yet goes into the final day leading by over a minute - having measured his pace perfectly on a day that was dry, but very hard on tyres.

"A good day - very steady and safe driving. No panic," said the leader. "There's still one day to go so we need to make sure that we are still there at the end of the rally. You're just listening for every little sound in the car, but luckily the grip was much more consistent, and that made today a little bit easier."

While Hirvonen was taking things steadily, Solberg was flying. At the start of the day he and Ford calculated that it would be possible to get up from 12th - where he had been relegated by the Rally 2 penalties following his Friday accident - to fourth, and that was exactly what he did, winning four out of today's first five stages. Patrik Sandell smacking a tyre when holding a fairly secure fourth in his Prodrive Mini did allow Solberg to reach his target slightly earlier than he might have done, though. A power steering failure dropped Solberg back to fifth at the end of the day, but with six more stages on Sunday and only 16s to recover to reclaim fourth from Nasser Al-Attiyah, it shouldn't be a problem.

Mads Ostberg and Evgeny Novikov soon switched into 'don't throw away this podium' mode today, with the former having a late scare due to a particularly noisy loose sumpguard on the Adapta Ford on the final stage.

"It sounded like the whole car was falling apart, there were some really loud noises from the back of the car," said Ostberg. "I couldn't see any problem with the car but it was getting worse and worse. I tried to keep going but I didn't want to destroy anything. It was like a proper rock concert in there - really loud. I thought maybe both rear wheels were off or something. I could still drive the car I was just really afraid of what was going on back there."

Martin Prokop, Dennis Kuipers and Peter van Merksteijn Jr remain on course for the sort of points finishes that won't come around for them every day in sixth, seventh and ninth places, with Sebastien Ogier now doing his giant-killing thing in the Volkswagen Skoda among them in ninth. Jari Ketomaa pondered retiring when he thought his Autotek Ford had broken a driveshaft, but it turned out to only be a brake issue so he continues in 10th - albeit with Rally 2 runners Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo (fastest on both stages Solberg didn't win today) looming behind him.

Armindo Araujo's dreams of doing something heroic on home ground were pretty much dashed when he went off on Thursday night's first proper stage, but another incident today when 12th underlined that this was going to be a depressing weekend.

It was a similar feeling for Jari-Matti Latvala, who dropped 12 minutes with fuel pressure problems and now looks unlikely to get near the top 10 from 17th.
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Steve · Mar 31, 2012

Araujo plans Sunday return (WRC.com)

31 Mar 12

Local hero Armindo Araujo, driving for WRC Team MINI Portugal, is set to return to action on the final day of Vodafone Rally de Portugal after he ripped a suspension arm off his John Cooper Works WRC on today's penultimate test.

Araujo had been battling to make up lost time after sliding off the road on Thursday, and he was just outside the top 10 when he hit a rock and stopped, relegating him to 16th place under Rally 2 rules heading into the final day.

Providing there is no unforeseen extra damage, Araujoâ€™s team has confirmed the Porto-born driver should be back in front of his home fans for Sundayâ€™s final six stages. He will also be determined to go out on a high on the final five-kilometre Power Stage, Sambro, which rewards the top three finishers with extra points in the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.

â€œRunning in front of my home crowd is a special feeling: I feel that I can almost hear them inside the car,â€ said Araujo. â€œI am annoyed at myself for the mistake on Thursday, but afterwards my feeling with the car was good and I was able to push. I think some of the times that Dani Sordo has set shows that it can be quick.â€

While Sordo has been running a full set of the latest evolutions on his MINI, Araujoâ€™s car is in older specification but with the most recent dampers.
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