Final stage in Portugal Rally notes - Neuville takes victory 20.05.2018: WRC Rallyes 2018 Vodafone Portugal Rally Sunday, May 20th 2018 1. BEL T. NEUVILLE 2. GBR E. EVANS +40.0 3. FIN T. SUNINEN +47.3

WRC Rallyes 2018
Vodafone Portugal Rally
Sunday, May 20th 2018



1.     BEL T. NEUVILLE    
2.     GBR E. EVANS     +40.0
3.     FIN T. SUNINEN     +47.3

4.     FIN E. LAPPI     +54.7
5.     ESP D. SORDO     +1:00.9
6.     NOR M. OSTBERG     +3:33.5
7.     IRL C. BREEN     +5:23.0
8.     SWE P. TIDEMAND     +14:10.8
9.     POL L. PIENIAZEK     +16:17.3
10.     FRA S. LEFEBVRE     +16:34.3
11.     NOR A. MIKKELSEN     +24:44.4
12.     FRA S. OGIER     +35:28.3
13.     FIN J. LATVALA     +48:50.3




Sun 13:15 - SS20: Neuville


Thierry Neuville is the last through the Power Stage, he's second fastest on the stage and secures victory for Hyundai! That's also given him the championship lead after this - the sixth round of the year!


Sun 13:10 - SS20: Evans

He's through now, 4.3sec off the fastest stage time but he's claimed second place overall! "Thanks, it was well overdue really. We've not had a great start to the year but hopefully this is a sign of more positive things to come!"



Sun 13:05 - SS20: Suninen

Suninen comes through 3.2sec down on Lappi but that's enough for a place on the podium! He's third place at the moment. "Thank you! The feeling is so great, first podium ever in the WRC. It took a year, but I'm so happy!"



Sun 13:00 - SS20: Lappi

Esapekka is 1.4sec up at the final split and he extends that to 2.1sec at the end as he claims the fastest stage time! "It's been a great two days to be honest, I've never pushed so hard! It's been a learning curve to drive on the limit for one and a half days!"



Sun 12:56 - SS20: Sordo


The Spaniard is green through the splits and he's a massive 2.5sec faster than his team-mate! "I had a problem with the screen because it is completely broken, on some corners it was difficult to see. It was disappointing not being able to finish on the podium but I did it for the people."




Sun 12:53 - SS20: Østberg

Mads completes his first rally since Sweden and he's second through the Power Stage, just 0.3sec off the fastest time. "It was a good stage, I saved it all day. It's a long time since I did a rally on this level and I didn't know if I could increase the speed but I'm really happy with my time on this stage. I'm sorry to all the fans for only doing a small jump but I wanted to save the car for the team."




Sun 12:48 - SS20: Breen

He's not been tasked with road-sweeping for this final stage and a heavy landing loses him time - 3.4sec off Mikkelsen. "Not so good feeling about the weekend, I enjoyed it but like I said when you're the opener when you're the championship leader is nice but when you're not it isn't! I'm looking forward to Sardinia."




Sun 12:44 - SS20: Mikkelsen

The Hyundai driver is the last of the crews who started again under Rally2 to tackle the Fafe jump. He move the goalposts again, 0.6sec faster than Ogier. "It is not really the weekend we hoped for but the car was working well and we were able to push for quick stage times. The team have done a great job with the car and I hope Thierry can take the win for the team because they deserve it."




Sun 12:40 - SS20: Ogier

He said he's been waiting since Friday afternoon to take on the Power Stage and he's 2.6sec faster than Latvala. "With this position I couldn't go faster, I don't think it will be enough because it is still cleaning quite a bit."



Sun 12:37 - SS20: Latvala

He says: "It is going to be okay, but I think the fastest time is going to be 39 or 38 today, the opening section was quite slippy and I think it will still clean up." Latvala wasn't too positive on that run, but Michelin mascot Bibendum gives him a round of applause at stop control for his efforts.



Sun 12:32 - SS20: Latvala

Jari-Matti is onto the stage now, our first WRC car to tackle Fafe on this run



Sun 12:31 - SS20: Tidemand

The Skoda Motorsport driver is using every inch of the stage in his Fabia, he leaps over the jump and he's fastest so far - 3sec up on Pieniazek. That gives him the WRC 2 class win!



Sun 12:29 - SS20: Pieniazek

The Pole takes off over the jump at the end of the stage and he's 3.6sec slower than Lefebvre but maintains his lead over the Frenchman.



Sun 12:27 - SS20: Tidemand

Argentina winner Pontus Tidemand is onto the Power Stage now he's putting on a show for the tens of thousands of fans who are lining this stage.



Sun 12:26 - SS20: Lefebvre

Lefebvre launches the C3 R5 over the iconic jump and he's our first man to complete Vodafone Rally de Portugal.



Sun 12:21 - SS20: Pieniazek

The second of the WRC 2 front-runners is onto the stage now as Lukasz Pieniazek launches his Skoda onto the test



Sun 12:18 - SS20: Lefebvre

The final stage of the rally is underway and it is Stéphane Lefebvre who gets us started!




Sun 11:45 - Live TV Power Stage starting order:

1. Lefebvre 2. Pieniazek 3. Tidemand 4. Latvala 5. Ogier 6. Mikkelsen 7. Breen 8. Østberg 9. Sordo 10. Lappi 11. Suninen 12. Evans 13. Neuville



full results, livetiming and more on www.wrc.com   photo