Belgian driver was the fastest in the Figueira da Foz super special
• Photo: Hélder Gomes
Thierry Neuville is the first leader of the Rally of Portugal, having been the fastest in the 2.94 km of the Figueira da Foz city super special. The Belgian from Hyundai, who leads the world rally championship (WRC), took the best over Sébastien Ogier by just 6 tenths of a second. But he already has 4.3 seconds over Elfyn Evans, who is his current most direct rival in the drivers’ championship.
The riders will now head to the closed park, in Figueira da Foz, from where they will leave early this Friday for a long journey that includes 8 stages, with two passes through Mortágua, Lousã, Góis and Arganil, and at midday there will be no assistance, but only tire check.
Regarding the drivers competing for the Portuguese Rally Championship, the fastest was Kris Meeke, followed by Armindo Araújo with just 0.7 seconds more.
Classification of the Figueira da Foz super special:
1st Thierry Neuville, Hyundai: 2.24.2 minutes
2nd Sébastien Ogier, Toyota: +0.6 seconds
3rd Ott Tänak, Hyundai: +2 s
4th Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota: +2 s
5th Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota: +2.4 s
6th Adrien Fourmaux, M-Sport Ford: +3.1 s
7th Dani Sordo, Hyundai: +4.1 s
8th Elfyn Evans, Toyota: +4.3 s
9th Yohan Rossel, Citroën: +4.7 s
10th Pierre-Louis Loubet, Skoda: +5.2 s
By André Gonçalves
