Zoom Loix is out of the picture

The 22 kilometres of the Vascao 2 stage brought many changes to the general standings as events cascaded. After pushing himself very close to the summit on the previous run, only 0.7 seconds away from the rally lead, François Duval lost over a dozen seconds during this stage while Luca Rossetti lost the top overall position.

Nicolas Vouilloz was the fastest on this trail, taking 15:08.9 to drive his Peugeot 207 S2000 from one end to the other in difficult conditions. Luca Rossetti's Peugeot was second-fastest, only 4.1 seconds behind, but the Italian nonetheless lost the lead of Rally Portugal to his French rival.

12.2 seconds away, François Duval claimed third position at the controls of his Fiat Grande Punto, surely determined to make his way back up again.

Fourth on this stage, Didier Auriol's Fiat finished its run ahead of the Peugeots driven by Bruno Magalhaes and Jan Kopecky. Juho Hanninen drove his Mitsubishi Lancer into position number seven, with the Peugeots 207 Super 2000s of Miguel Campos and Brice Tirabassi in tow. Andreas Aigner, aboard another Mitsubishi, took tenth position. With two punctures to date and no more spares, Belgian driver Freddy Loix had no choice but to retire.

Slowed down by a misty windshield during the previous stage, Giandomenico Basso encountered difficulties on this run also when a puncture and tyre change cost him three minutes. That saw him fall from fourth to tenth position in the general rankings.

A puncture for Manfred Stohl brought similar consequences, dropping him from sixth to thirteenth overall. The Austrian's misadventure was a bit longer at three and a half minutes.

Jan Kopecky had a good run but does not feel very secure for the next run after reporting transmission problems on his Peugeot 207.

Dani Solà also lost time: the Spaniard has been receiving oil and water temperature alarms in addition to other engine isues.

Nicolas Vouilloz is back in the lead of Rally Portugal, albeit a fragile one as the advantage he holds on Luca Rossetti stands at 1.5 seconds. François Duval lags 14.4 seconds behind the leader, 21.7 seconds ahead of Jan Kopecky, who moves up to fourth position with Didier Auriol in fifth overall.

The final stage of Day One comes next.

Daniel BASTIEN
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