Ott Tänak was on a flyer during Rally Portugal’s second day morning. He even extended his lead over the opening two stages. Unfortunately all his hard work became undone on the following speed test (SS12).
Getting caught out with some understeer under braking, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja ran wide and impacted with a bank. Damaging the suspension and losing the brakes, Tänak had to forgo his lead – losing more than a minute and falling to fifth.
With his Fiesta back to full working order after the midday service break, the 29-year-old climbed to fourth and remains resolute on securing good points through the event’s final stages.
A shame to lose the battle for the win this morning, but that’s rally and I’m not too frustrated. Good points still up for grabs tomorrow! ? pic.twitter.com/A2zWM1NE9Q
— Ott Tänak (@OttTanak) May 20, 2017
“It was a shame about what happened”, Ott Tänak admitted
“We were pushing hard but still felt quite comfortable with the pace we were setting. This is rallying and it’s just the way it goes sometimes so I’m not too frustrated.”
“In the afternoon we weren’t pushing so much – just concentrating on having a good rhythm with a smooth and clean drive. It was good to get back up to fourth, and that gives us a better road position going into the final day.”
“We’ll see what happens and try to do our best as always. Craig [Breen] is still quite close behind and he’s had some good speed this weekend so we’ll have to keep an eye on him for sure.”
Sebastien Ogier inherited the lead and was very happy with his performance. Still, the four-time world champion pointed out that the rally was not over yet, although he rarely makes mistakes on the road.
“With 16 seconds you can never relax completely so we need to continue in the same way – keeping the same speed and staying clear of trouble. We have some beautiful stages still to drive and I really love Fafe – it’s fantastic. For sure we still have to push because no one is going to back off. We still need to give it all we have and the Power Stage is always important for those extra points”, Ogier added.
Get your game face on! It’s the final day of @rallydeportugal… #WRC pic.twitter.com/PlGxxcdiuS
— M-Sport (@MSportLtd) May 21, 2017
