SS18: Latvala flies on longest stage

Jari-Matti Latvala has won the longest stage of Vodafone Rally de Portugal following a charging drive in his Ford World Rally Team Fiesta RS WRC.

The Finn was 10.2s faster than team-mate Petter Solberg as he continues to battle back from the various delays suffered during round four of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.

“It’s hard work but a great stage,” he said. “The car is fantastic to drive and I’m really enjoying it.”

Mads Ostberg has suffered a scare in his bid to finish second overall after his Adapta Fiesta dropped on to three cylinders. “For the last three kilometres we were in road mode, it happened early in the stage and we had to reset everything.”

Ostberg’s delay means Citroen Total World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen’s overall lead increases to 1m22.8s. The Finn was fifth quickest on the stage.

Thierry Neuville impressed in his Citroen Junior World Rally Team DS3 WRC, setting the third fastest time. He said: “It was quite okay and I am quite happy with my time. At the end of the stage we had a little problem with the car but we go to the end. I had a fire detected [warning light] but there is no fire.”

WRC Team MINI Portugal’s Armindo Araujo spun his John Cooper Works WRC approximately halfway through the stage.

“It was a long stage and quite difficult,” said the Portuguese driver. “I made a small spin at one junction in the middle but everything is okay with the car.”

Daniel Oliveira completed the run with a front-left puncture on his Brazil World Rally Team Fiesta. The car was also sporting minor bodywork damage.

Ott Tanak lost three minutes after damaging the rear suspension on his M-Sport Fiesta. Martin Prokop reported suffering from severe understeer in his Fiesta.

Peter van Merksteijn Jr said his performance was his “best ever” after the Dutchman made no mistakes in his Citroen DS3 WRC.

Yazeed Al Rajhi, who was leading the Super 2000 World Rally Championship category by almost nine minutes, is reported to have stopped with damaged front-left suspension on his Ford Fiesta RRC.