Rally Portugal 2022

[AnttiL]

http://planetemarcus.com/saison-wrc/wrc-rallye-portugal-2022/

Route seems identical to 2021 except for the addition of a new opening super special in Coimbra, Vieira do Minho shortened a few km and Montim run twice on Sunday

[AnttiL]

Rumors of both Loeb and Ogier starting in Portugal

https://www.rallit.fi/mestareiden-taisto-saamassa-jatkoa-loeb-ja-ogier-jalleen-lahtoviivalla-samassa-mm-rallissa/

[AnttiL]

Rumors of both Loeb and Ogier starting in Portugal

https://www.rallit.fi/mestareiden-taisto-saamassa-jatkoa-loeb-ja-ogier-jalleen-lahtoviivalla-samassa-mm-rallissa/

Confirmed (Toyota confirmed earlier)

https://twitter.com/sebastienloeb/status/1516310953326956548?s=21

[Allez Andruet]

Loeb vs. Ogier II - the rematch in Portugal. Let's get ready to rumble!

[Danny0405]

Loeb vs. Ogier II - the rematch in Portugal. Let's get ready to rumble!

Don’t think it will be the same story.
1. I’m not sure Loeb is still able to fight for victory everywhere.
2. Ogier will have a way better road position than Loeb (at least Tanak, Katsuta, Greensmith between them) if no rain (and if rain like in ERC in March, I don’t think Loeb can fight for the win)
3. Also do not forget that Evans and Sordo will have even better road position.

All in all, would be already really good if Loeb can fight for podium.

[Eli]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/ogier-vs-loeb-rematch-will-happen-in-portugal/

An announcement on Ogler's participation is likely to happen on Tuesday, not sure if tomorrow or next week.

[EstWRC]

Can’t wait for this rally to happen already. I have always been excited for the first gravel round of the year

- Loeb and Ogier back again and bringing excitement and extra competitiveness
- how will Kalle do as first on the road, will he still smash everyone
- how is the gravel form of different teams. Remember Hyundai still hasn’t tested on gravel
- what times is Ogier capable of showing when he now finally gets to start from back
- Loeb and Tänak starting 4th and 5th, so will be interesting to watch their times
- what can Sordo do from his position
- will we get some red hybrid lights after Fafe jumps :D

Bring it on!

[AnttiL]

Ogier confirmed

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1518561712466632708

[pantealex]

Entry were closed week ago.

Entries will be published this Friday!

Rally is also part of "JWRC" and local Peugeot and ToyotaGR cup. Max number of entries 90.

[Andre Oliveira]

Toyota Iberian cup have no FIA homologation. Maybe outside of that numbers.

[Danny0405]

The entry list has been published, the level will be incredible in RC2 (almost Avengers-level :D )
Mikkelsen, Suninen, Gryazin, Solberg, Bulacia (and the younger brother also), Kajto, Rossel, Ingram, Camilli, Pietarinen, Linnamae, Cais, Lefebvre, Marczyk, Guerra, Prokop, J. Solans + all the Portuguese leaders (Araujo,Magalhaes, Almeida, Meireles).

And even with some drivers not there: Lindholm, Huttunen, Veiby, Ostberg (probably no WRC-2 season for him).

[seb_sh]

With Loeb, Ogier and the WRC2 entries this is like an all-star rally. Exciting!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Assuming the weather is dry, those top drivers lower down the start order (Evans, Tanak) would hope to get a better result than Rovanpera who opens the road on day one.

Here however they will have Ogier and Loeb to fight with, so making their chances lower and Rovanpera may benefit.

[AnttiL]

Friday is also relatively short, almost half of the rally is driven on Saturday. For the latest starters on Friday, there could also be some stones on the way causing punctures.

Last year after Friday Tänak was leading, having started fourth. Evans was 6s behind, having started third. Neuville started second and was second until he crashed out. Ogier was fifth at the end of the day, having started first on the road, 24s behind Tänak.

Of course Ogier and Evans will be strong now with a good road position, but Tänak (fifth on the road) will be also up there.

[Tom K]

If I am correct, last year was raining (heavily) before rally.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

If I am correct, last year was raining (heavily) before rally.

I don't remember before the event, but the clips I watched from Portugal 2021 looked pretty dusty.

Ogier said even with a perfect drive he couldnt have beaten Evans due to opening the road on day one.

[Tom K]

Here is selection of photos in order: Shakedown, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. As route was a copy from 2019, you can compare how dry and dusty it was 2 years earlier.

2276

2277

2278

2279

[AnttiL]

https://itgetsfasternow.com/2022/05/10/route-preview-rally-portugal-2022/

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Team and driver thoughts on their Rally1 cars' readiness for gravel:

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/whos-where-with-their-rally1-cars-on-gravel/

[Sergiow]

WRC Portugal - Ogier is not sure he can fight for the win. The Frenchman says he does not know how much he will be able to exploit the Yaris Rally 1 on gravel:

"It's a challenge to get back in the car after three months. It's not huge, but I have to try to find the right feeling. It's more exciting when you come back - I've been on vacation with my family and I'm feeling pretty fresh right now.

Sure, the car has changed a bit since last time, but it's also the first time on gravel for me [on a Rally 1], so it's new and the car behaves quite differently than the previous generation. For me it's like learning again to find out what I can do and where the limits are. It is difficult to estimate what level we are at, but we will know soon enough when the race starts."
https://www.rallyssimo.it/2022/05/10/wrc-portogallo-ogier-non-si-dice-sicuro-di-poter-lottare-per-la-vittoria/

Strange declaration at least, not very Ogier-esque, especially when being on holiday with his family but not mentioning at all his Spa 2022 WEC race last week

[dimviii]

but not mentioning at all his Spa 2022 WEC race last week
probably he was expecting more.

[focus206]

I think a driver like Ogier won't have problems getting used to the car and being at the top after few SS.
Maybe he does feel disappointed with how tough Spa was for him. In other disciplines he's certainly more "human" than in rallying.

[Sergiow]

Seems like he has trouble adapting to WEC, here is a link to interview of Ogier with Belgian RTBF during the Spa WEC weekend where he goes in great detail about the difference between WEC and WRC

What's the most difficult?

"The use of tires is something very sensitive, even more so than with us in rallying. I don't have the experience, so I don't have the understanding yet. I had made a visualization of the car perhaps even better than it is, I tend to expect a little too much from the car and therefore over-drive it. It's one of the things in which I'm improving and where I still have to improve with the short time I have on the track. This is clearly a parameter that I had not anticipated."
www.rtbf.be/article/sebastien-ogier-un-homme-heureux-10990222

[dimviii]

Oliver livery

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSzAiFwXEAATXDn?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSzAiFzX0AIDO9d?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSzAiFxWQAA837C?format=jpg&name=large

[TypeR]

Found out today, that there is no service on Friday.
Another great idea, first proper gravel rally on rough Portugal roads with new cars and let's gamble again..

[AnttiL]

Found out today, that there is no service on Friday.
Another great idea, first proper gravel rally on rough Portugal roads with new cars and let's gamble again..

It’s a quite short day…same route as last year

[EstWRC]

It’s a quite short day…same route as last year

route can be same but cars are different, and Fridays stages are rougher than on Saturday if im not mistaken.

Anyway, finally back on gravel, crazy to think the last time we had gravel rally was last years Rally Finland in October! The absence of Mexico and Argentina definitely hurts in that sense.

In my eyes the favourites for the win are Ogier and Tänak, both with good starting positions, we know Ogiers record here, although he won last time in 2017. Tänak won in 2019 and was leading last year by 22 secs before the suspension failure. Loeb and Kalle are dark horses for the win, Loebs gravel form is kinda unknown at this point and Kalle is gonna struggle on first day but the question is how much? The guy is in such a form that i think even if he looses like 25 secs after Friday he can take it back with Saturday, depends of starting position again.

Breen is gonna struggle again i think, like in Monte he doesnt have the experience. Gus said he wants his first podium from here but i think he chose completely wrong event for that with Loeb, Ogier, Sordo in the list amongst regulars + Tänak and Evans having good starting positions. Evans is another big question mark, what can he do? Last year he won but he isnt in good shape this year.

And the class of WRC2, man thats gonna be interesting as hell too.

We're gonna have an amazing rally i think.

[er88]

If Evans wants the championship he has to win I'm afraid. For the pts first and foremost (as there's potentially a fair few drivers that can get inbetween him and Kalle, what with Loeb, Ogier, Tanak, Sordo, and even drivers like Greensmith fancying their chances). But also for his own confidence...., Croatia was a strange rally for him but he was on the pace in Monte and Sweden.

However I can't see past Ogier. He's waited to start this far back for years and is looking to make a statement

[AnttiL]

route can be same but cars are different, and Fridays stages are rougher than on Saturday if im not mistaken.

My point was that it's not "another great idea", they had the same route base already in 2019. The Coimbra area stages are too far from the service park, they can't have a midday service. And otherwise we would have to drop Arganil and the other great stages from that area and redesign the route. But yeah, 121 km with no service is a long way to go. On Saturday you have then two 80 km loops, so this is quite an endurance rally by today's standards!

I agree with the rest of your post. Ogier, Evans, Tänak and Sordo are my favourites for the win. It could be down to luck who wins. I think Rovanperä will struggle, Loeb will not be as strong as in Monte. Difficult to say for the youngsters like Greensmith and Katsuta, who have promised to show some pace. We could see strong stage times but also crashes.

Breen hasn't started a technical gravel rally with WRC since Catalunya 2018 so he's totally down on experience. The other drivers have done the new Friday stages twice, but for him they are completely new. And even his starting position doesn't give that much advantage.

[wyler]

Found out today, that there is no service on Friday.
Another great idea, first proper gravel rally on rough Portugal roads with new cars and let's gamble again..

seems to be quite usual nowadays, Sardegna also has a day with remote service only...

[AnttiL]

seems to be quite usual nowadays, Sardegna also has a day with remote service only...

But still very exceptional. Sardegna has a problem with the best stages in the middle of the island and the cities available for service park at the edges. It results in long liaisons.

[wyler]

But still very exceptional. Sardegna has a problem with the best stages in the middle of the island and the cities available for service park at the edges. It results in long liaisons.

i know. mine was more a joke on happening twice in close rounds than a real statement! : )

[wyler]

by the way: if someone is coming to sardegna shout out!

[M3 Jambo]

Is spectating free for Rally Portugal, first time here for over 20years and info seems to be at a premium.

[AnttiL]

i know. mine was more a joke on happening twice in close rounds than a real statement! : )

Monte as well…

[JRodrigues]

Is spectating free for Rally Portugal, first time here for over 20years and info seems to be at a premium.

https://rallyzepub.vost.pt/

There are paid zones with food and drinks, but all other areas are free.

[Rallyper]

Don´t forget Pickems, guys! Closing at 20.00 hrs CEST (note: changed closing time due to wrong timezone)

[M3 Jambo]

https://rallyzepub.vost.pt/

There are paid zones with food and drinks, but all other areas are free.

Thanks much appreciated. Would appear programmes are available digitally only.

[wyler]

Monte as well…

yep that's why jokin' on the hype! "quite usual nowadays" meaning this year! : )

[EstWRC]

Seen couple of pics from recce and some of the parts look it has rained recently and are moist.

This can help Kalle a lot although during the rally the weather will be very hot.

[AnttiL]

I'm looking at a weather site's history and it doesn't show any rain for the stages during this month

https://www.foreca.fi/Portugal/Fafe/havaintohistoria?s=1021025140
https://www.foreca.fi/Portugal/Coimbra/havaintohistoria?s=1021025140

[EstWRC]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220518/1ea12a971502e8992b4742e1dcecb73f.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220518/03979059d67611600eef81586c54debd.jpg

[JRodrigues]

Believe me, it rained a lot this weekend in the north. Some hailstorm in some areas as well.

[EstWRC]

Hah okay.

Then I’ll add definitely Kalle amongst possible winners together with Ogier and Tänak

[AnttiL]

Believe me, it rained a lot this weekend in the north. Some hailstorm in some areas as well.

In the North, not on the Friday stages?

[JRodrigues]

In the North, not on the Friday stages?

Those I don't know for sure, but I live 40km from saturday and sunday stages and we had (occasional) heavy rain saturday and some light rain since monday.
Today it was supposed to be sunny but still have some dark clouds around.

[EstWRC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTD2UwvX0AAEbPF?format=jpg&name=4096x4096
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTDvxMmXoAE4c3X?format=jpg&name=large

[EstWRC]

recce interviews by dirtfish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PunJmQKUfLs

[AnttiL]

Many drivers say Friday is dry though

https://twitter.com/jonarmstrong84/status/1527023787123818497?s=21

[er88]

-Deleted-

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/PauloAr23028946/status/1526929760739377159

[TypeR]

SD road seems very smooth and clean..
Is there tarmac on proper stages?

Gus has new helmet and ,,no fkn hybrid'' :)
Ogier no intercom, but only +1.4..

[EstWRC]

Ogier with no intercom on first run

Gus didn’t have hybrid and Breen was down on power

[TypeR]

Suninen faster with rally2 than Fourmaux with wrc.. makes him smile I guess :D

[meh]

I was thinking to put my pickems in place and watched shakedown and... I'm not sure I have been ever before so lost for pickems. I hope it comes tough and close competition between a lot of drivers. Enjoy, guys :)

[EstWRC]

the times are super close indeed, also on the second run

[EstWRC]

veeeryyy close times on second run https://www.ewrc-results.com/shake/73360-vodafone-rally-de-portugal-2022/?run=2

[seb_sh]

Looks like we have an exciting rally coming!

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhnxuoDDuuk

[focus206]

so 9 SS without service? I hope in not many retirements, but I have a bad feeling about Hyundai...
Not an enormous amount of Km, but still.

[EstWRC]

https://youtu.be/Vgcz3f1cews

https://youtu.be/DOJwWV7HrGM

https://youtu.be/GnBlYrVUsMQ

[Sulland]

so 9 SS without service? I hope in not many retirements, but I have a bad feeling about Hyundai...
Not an enormous amount of Km, but still.

Aprox 115 km on leg1.
So drivers need to adapt speed accordingly, so they keep the car running!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Puma's are usually solitary beasts, but not here... ;)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTHLxKAWIAAXjvH?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTHLxJ-X0AUdW4B?format=jpg&name=large

[Winner]

Who scores points for M-Sport this weekend?

[wyler]

Who scores points for M-Sport this weekend?

loeb, breen, greensmith i would guess.

[Eli]

Loeb, Breen, Greensmith i would guess.

Loeb is scoring instead of Greensmith as far as I know, so Loeb & Breen but I'm not sure as to who's the third driver that's scoring points, I think Fourmaux but I'm really not sure.

[WRCStan]

Who scores points for M-Sport this weekend?

Fourmaux
Loeb
Breen

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Yep. This is why Greensmith said he's going flat-out here to try to get a podium for himself, as he's not under orders to finish and score points

[TypeR]

SS1 start delayed already?

[Sulland]

Is all live working for you?

[EstWRC]

This is crap compared to Lousada

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Stupid having a hairpin straight after the ramp. No-one is going to do a big jump which defeats the purpose of it.

[WRCStan]

Is all live working for you?

Yes.

[SubaruNorway]

Mehhhh

[RS]

Awful stage, and tarmac stage with gravel car is just silly.

[TypeR]

Mickey-Mouse.. but surprizingly intense and interesting stage..


But yes, I agree.. full tarmac stage is weird.

Ogier seems like with a really soft suspension setting.. Still fastest till now.

Kind of missed his stage end interviews for couple of rallies..

[EstWRC]

Thierry super aggressive and like always one of the fastest on super specials.

Tänak lost that 0.6 to first handbrake corner. Went way too wide there. But great to see happy Tänak back this season after two years.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

@WRCWings Toyota using partial blockage of the side scoop here in Portugal ...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTIQAsFUEAkcpjH?format=jpg&name=medium

[EstWRC]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220519/14dbcb1ce445ff073b0791cd424b113b.jpg

[SubaruNorway]

4 wheels off the road, first penalty.

[Tauri_J]

Who was it, Thierry?

[EstWRC]

yeah Thierry

btw Camilli already retired, electrical problem

[wwbroe]

Good morning guys, exciting day ahead of us:)

[Rallyper]

Morning guys. Now, let´s go!!

[TypeR]

Kalle's situation isn't too bad.. obviously cleaning, but I expected worse..

[Rallyper]

Let´s see if dust will be a problem...

[EstWRC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTLw1SeXEAAy-W6?format=jpg&name=small

[Tauri_J]

Oof hanging dust

[EstWRC]

4 minute gaps but still hanging dust for Thierry, horrible at times

[wwbroe]

Hanging dust is a problem, especially under the threes

[wwbroe]

Thierry one second faster at second split

[wwbroe]

1,3 at the end

[wwbroe]

Seems really slow stage, 9 min to cover 12 km

[Tauri_J]

Especially the ending, look at those hairpins

[wwbroe]

Loeb little rusty on gravel, slowest sofar

[jonkka]

Loeb little rusty on gravel, slowest sofar

Loeb is smart and experienced, I believe he takes it easy while settling in with the car and conditions.

[EstWRC]

Kalle must use this chance fully, clear vision

[wwbroe]

Kalle must this chance fully, clear vision
Yes, but opening the road, that is not an advantage i think

[wwbroe]

Loeb second fastest at the end, smart driving indeed

[EstWRC]

Yes, but opening the road, that is not an advantage i think

of course it isnt but on some parts the other guys cant see shit

[TypeR]

1 stage done, 7 more for Kalle.. minimal loss from this one

[Tauri_J]

Loeb still great, but that is expected

[wwbroe]

Tanak coming fast now

[wwbroe]

But the difference between the drivers is small, so stage isn't cleaning all that much

[Tauri_J]

I predict that Ogier Will be fuming after the stage

[EstWRC]

very very small gaps so far

[meh]

very very small gaps so far

guys from back having cleaner road but worse visibility

[wwbroe]

Great first split for Gus, let's see if he can keep this rythm

[TypeR]

Gus 2s faster than Tänak on split1.. he is on fire :D

[EstWRC]

wow Gus 1.9 faster than Ott in spl1

[wwbroe]

Gus still 1 sec faster as Ott on second split

[EstWRC]

Ogier 1.5 slower in spl1

[wwbroe]

Best time for Gus at the end, well done

[Rallyper]

GG learnt a lot.

[EstWRC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTL0N55XsAAGocg?format=jpg&name=medium

[wwbroe]

Elfyn even faster the Gus on first split, so stage is cleaning after all i suppose

[EstWRC]

the guys from back now finally starting to come faster

[wwbroe]

Ogier 1.7 slower at the end

[EstWRC]

Evans suddenly on fire this event, 2.8 already up on Ott in spl1

[240RS]

Greensmith. . . .wow!!!

[wwbroe]

Evans is flying

[EstWRC]

wow Evans, hats off, this is a mega ride

[wwbroe]

6.1 sec faster in the end, what a ride

[Tauri_J]

More like Evans...wow

[wwbroe]

Let's see what Dani is capable off with his starting position

[wwbroe]

Third time overall for Loubet

[wwbroe]

It will be difficult for Mikkelsen, starting only minutes after Sordo, visibility will be awfull

[wwbroe]

Sordo allready loosing time on first split

[EstWRC]

Let's see what Dani is capable off with his starting position

not a good start, same split as Ott

TBH Evans time is what i expected from ogier, sordo

little dissappointed in Tänaks time

[Fast Eddie WRC]

When was the last British drivers 1-2 on a rally ?! :D

[wwbroe]

Fourmeaux slowest sofar

[wwbroe]

When was the last British drivers 1-2 on a rally ?! :D
Must been ages ago

[Tauri_J]

Fourmeaux slowest sofar

He needs to finish or he is done

[EstWRC]

Sordo is way too slow from his position, slower than Ott and Thierry

[wwbroe]

Sordo 8 sec slower

[AnttiL]

Seems really slow stage, 9 min to cover 12 km

slowest of the rally, but still faster than some very twisty stages on rallies like Turkey and Sardinia.

I'm disappointed in Sordo's performance. Great time from Evans.

[wwbroe]

Suninen 4 sec faster as Mikkelsen

[Lead]

Is there a dust problem for WRC2 drivers?

[er88]

Great drive Evans, Greensmith and Loubet.

Expected more from Ott and Ogier, but maybe Seb a little rusty.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Solberg slow compared to the top WRC2 guys.

[wwbroe]

Stage 3, Gois, is a lot faster than previous one

[EstWRC]

dust wise this stage seems a lot better

[wwbroe]

dust wise this stage seems a lot better
It is more open, not so many threes

[wwbroe]

Neuville half a second slower on first split

[wwbroe]

Neuville loosing more time +2.7 at second split

[wwbroe]

Breen fastest sofar on first split

[EstWRC]

Seems like Hyundai has a lot of work to do on gravel yet

[wwbroe]

Suninen is taking the besttime on stage 2 for Hyundai, in WRC2 tough.:D

[Tauri_J]

Seems like Hyundai has a lot of work to do on gravel yet

After 1st gravel stage...

[wwbroe]

Thierry loosing about 5 sec at the end

[wwbroe]

Tanak slower as Breen at first split, but only just 0.3 sec

[wwbroe]

Kalle 0;1 faster as Breen at the end

[wwbroe]

A lot of dust in Breen's and Neuville's cars

[EstWRC]

Ott not fast either

[wwbroe]

Loeb improving during the stage, slow start but coming faster now

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Good time by Breen considering the dust coming into the car !

[wwbroe]

Lot of dust in Loeb's car as well, he couldn't close the door completely at the start

[cali]

Lot of dust in Loeb's car as well, he couldn't close the door completely at the start

Yeah, but he didn't seem to be bothered about it unlike some other fellows...

[wwbroe]

Gus slowest now on opening split

[wwbroe]

Besttime for Ott, but just by 0.1 of a second

[Tauri_J]

Gus really slow

[EstWRC]

After 1st gravel stage...

cmonh man, look at the times of Neuville and Tänak...you would expect Thierry to be a little faster or same as Kalle.....and Ott who is one of the fastest on gravel barely manages to beat Kalle who starts first and beats Taka just by 0.1

Ott just said the car is hard to drive, there you got it....gonne be a hard day for him with no service to adjust the car

[wwbroe]

Ogier same opening split as Ott

[EstWRC]

Great time from Taka!

[wwbroe]

Same time as Kalle for Katsuta, well done Takamoto

[EstWRC]

Gus burned his tires with first stage?

[wwbroe]

I don't know, could be a possibility

[Tauri_J]

cmonh man, look at the times of Neuville and Tänak...you would expect Thierry to be a little faster or same as Kalle.....and Ott who is one of the fastest on gravel barely manages to beat Kalle who starts first and beats Taka just by 0.1

Ott just said the car is hard to drive, there you got it....gonne be a hard day for him with no service to adjust the car

I'm totally fine with the speed of Hyundai after so little testing days on gravel. Or did you expect them to be the fastest right out of the box?

[wwbroe]

Gus loosing 10 sec at the end

[EstWRC]

I'm totally fine with the speed of Hyundai after so little testing days on gravel. Or did you expect them to be the fastest right out of the box?

definitely no, i agree with that.

maybe they are also more cautious?

[wwbroe]

Evans not as fast as on previous stage, same opening split as Tanak and Ogier

[EstWRC]

thanks god he isnt that fast :D

very very close times again, amazing in that sense

[wwbroe]

Gus sayibg he couldn't see anything, but loosing far more time as Breen and Loeb, who were having same amount of dust in the car

[wwbroe]

Evans fastest on second split tough

[Tauri_J]

Gus burned his tires with first stage?

One stage with so loose gravel, not possible

[EstWRC]

Evans now 0.6 up on Ott in spl2

[wwbroe]

Ogier not fastest trough, it seems stage is not becoming that much faster with later starters

[wwbroe]

Really slow first split for Loubet, loosing allready 11 sec

[wwbroe]

Evans almost even with Ott on last split

[EstWRC]

yeah seems there isnt that much cleaning

Evans just 0,1 up on Ott in final split

[flat_right]

Strange that they can't come faster from back on this stage.

[wwbroe]

Evans taking besttime, but only 0.1 faster on Ott

[EstWRC]

lets see if Sordo can up the pace now

[er88]

Stages like that from Kalle add weight to his "future champion" tag. Great drive

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Gus sayibg he couldn't see anything, but loosing far more time as Breen and Loeb, who were having same amount of dust in the car

Gus' car actually looked less dusty inside. Disappointing time.

[Tauri_J]

Ogier not fastest trough, it seems stage is not becoming that much faster with later starters
Stage is faster thats why the gaps are much closer. Toyota still fastest on slower sections like last year.

[wwbroe]

Stages like that from Kalle add weight to his "future champion" tag. Great drive
That is for sure true, very strong drive

[flat_right]

Evans said that it is quite soft at the end so there isn't too much cleaning effect on this one.

[EstWRC]

Great job from Kalle indeed with those two stages, just 9.7 secs from the lead

[wwbroe]

Sordo again loosing time on first split +1.7

[EstWRC]

Loubet had a spin, i would say he drove very good after that, didnt loose that much

[flat_right]

I think Sordo has just lack of seat time. Can't really remember when he drove last time

[Eli]

I think Sordo has just lack of seat time. Can't really remember when he drove last time

Greece last year was his last gravel event.

[wwbroe]

Sordo taking some time back towards the end of the stage

[Rally Hokkaido]

Top seven drivers less than a second apart!

[EstWRC]

Just look at those gaps !

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220520/af7c3fcffad03414ba5ca5dcd46274fa.jpg

[TypeR]

SS3 top7 in 0.7 seconds :D

even F1 can't do that

[wwbroe]

Marcus Gronholm in studio with Becs

[Rallyper]

Bosse now in the studio with Becsy. Legend!

[wwbroe]

Stage 4, Arganil famous stage, is allready live

[wwbroe]

Looks incredible slippy in there

[wwbroe]

Thierry faster on first split

[wwbroe]

Suninen again fastest on stage 3, Solberg again loosing much time

[wwbroe]

Thierry 3 sec faster on split 2

[EstWRC]

Thierry pushing now!

[wwbroe]

A lot of dust in Breen's car again

[wwbroe]

Loeb even faster on first split, will we see more cleaning effect on this stage?

[wwbroe]

Thierry 3.3 faster at the end, so passing Kalle in overall classification

[TypeR]

Tänak quite slow on SPL1.. +2.3

[EstWRC]

Tänak still struggling with car

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Great to hear Gronholm... what a great character.

[wwbroe]

Loeb still can do it, fastest on split 3

[Eli]

Breen hemorrhaging time here.

[wwbroe]

Breen loosing more then 10 sec, he cannot see a thing

[wwbroe]

Ott loosing a lot also on split 2

[EstWRC]

Ott with a problem It seems

[meh]

seems rear right puncture for Ott

edit: didn't see so anymore from another clip...

[wwbroe]

Loeb 2 sec up on Thierry at last split

[Fast Eddie WRC]

The Pumas are having big trouble letting in dust. Maybe making 5 for Portugal has affected their build-quality...

[wwbroe]

Loeb takes the bestime, 2.8 up on Thierry

[wwbroe]

The Pumas are having big trouble letting in dust. Maybe making 5 for Portugal has affected their build-quality...
Doesn't seem to bother Seb

[EstWRC]

seems rear right puncture for Ott

edit: didn't see so anymore from another clip...

yeah lost a sec now only

cant wait to hear whats wrong but he said after previous one that the car is hard to drive and not enjoyable

[wwbroe]

Ott loosing 10.8 to Seb in there

[flat_right]

No problems but no feeling for Ott

[wwbroe]

Ott saying there is no problem, but a lot of time lost tough

[TypeR]

no problems and +10sec doesn't really make sense..

[wwbroe]

Gus loosing a lot of time again

[EstWRC]

No problems but no feeling for Ott

yep and mo service today to make changes.....gonna be suffer for him

but it was the same last year on first day, i remember veyy well he didnt have a feeling too but got the setup right for saturday and then won all the stages bar one until the suspension collapsed

[Sulland]

The old man is really impressing me! Wow!

Maybe some rally should invite the old ledgends we see for the 50 year celebration, into a WRC-rally in RC2 or RC3 cars for a friendly battle!

[wwbroe]

Ogier seems to be all over the place

[meh]

no problems and +10sec doesn't really make sense..

classical Tänak, talking about problems later if those are fixed. But maybe there is nothing to talk about. Maybe just some mess with setup and "fixed" it to wrong direction. He has now quite a challenge to fight to normal starting position for tomorrow. Otherwise it's completely lost game.

In general quite interesting stage, that road position does not seem to give any strong advantage. Or everyone have cooked their tires already.

[wwbroe]

Evans 2.2 down on Loeb at first split

[EstWRC]

Evans not fast either, same as Ott in spl1

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Doesn't seem to bother Seb

His dust was due to the door not being shut properly on the last stage. All ok now.

[wwbroe]

Ogier loosing 6.3 to master on split 3

[EstWRC]

classical Tänak, talking about problems later if those are fixed. But maybe there is nothing to talk about. Maybe just some mess with setup and "fixed" it to wrong direction. He has now quite a challenge to fight to normal starting position for tomorrow. Otherwise it's completely lost game.

In general quite interesting stage, that road position does not seem to give any strong advantage. Or everyone have cooked their tires already.

still a lot to go today, the times were fine on first two stages for him, so yeah either he made a change for this stage that didnt work or smth....with couple of splits he just dropped over a second, with second split he gave away 4 secs

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Wow Loeb can lead !!

[EstWRC]

Ogier seems just so off this weekend so far

[Rallyper]

Everyone down the order loosing time.

[meh]

If Sordo will not produce any surprise here with his 2 hard tires, then Loeb made one more time clear for everyone, who is The King here

[EstWRC]

Ogier said he was pushing

[wwbroe]

Evans loosing a lot also

[EstWRC]

and Loeb leads!

what a guy

[wwbroe]

Evans loosing 10.6 in the end

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Wow Loeb can lead !!

He does !!! :D

[TypeR]

3 rallies later.. Loeb: ,,boys what are you doing?! :D ''


wonderful WRC+.. no Sordo and Fourmaux

[Sulland]

Loeb is my GOAT!!

[rp]

GOAT! Always able to surprise.

[Rally Hokkaido]

Similar to the Junior WRC regs, the FIA have announced a new driver eligibility regulation. Effective immediately Rally 1 WRC Championship will be limited to drivers under the age of 50 years old.

[er88]

Hard to keep coming up with superlatives to describe Loeb. He is incredible