The traditional afternoon loop in Portugal had been modified so that crews tackle a re-run of the Lousã stage first. Sébastien Ogier made the suspension slightly stiffer on the Yaris before the afternoon loop and the Frenchman was quickest.
But the second quickest time for Kalle Rovanperä enabled the Finn to move a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate Takamoto Katsuta in the overall classification. A mere 3.9 seconds separate the top five drivers with Ogier, Tänak and Neuville in third, fourth and fifth places.
Yohan Rossel was the quickest of the early WRC2 runners and took 5.7 seconds from Oliver Solberg, although the Swede complained of a misfire at low revs on the Škoda.
Three-minute intervals this afternoon for the Rally1 cars.
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“Obviously, it is more abrasive and much drier than this morning. Generally, for me, the wheel is always in the loose after the two-wheel drive cars. No traction. We have hard tyres on the car.”
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“Pretty difficult. I have to get a good feeling and we will keep trying.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“It is completely different to this morning, quite complicated. The lines are really narrow from the cars before.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“We have been really flat out. Still some work to do on the second loop.”
Car 69. ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN
“Our car is maybe a bit better on the set-up wise. It is still not 100% especially on the rough places. It is not going to be easy in the afternoon. I will do my best.”
Car 18. KATSUTA/JOHNSTON
“It’s a bit different the feeling on this one. Not as much grip. I try to keep pushing.”
Car 17. OGIER/LANDAIS
“The tyre is helping but we have made some little change. I feel a little bit better now. We made the set up a little stiffer.”
Car 13. MUNSTER/LOUKA
“It was a bit better. In the beginning, I had quite an impact on the first corner. I struggled a bit to find it back because it is so bumpy in there. But I am improving.”
Car 6. SORDO/CARRERA
“Maybe two soft tyres on the rear would be better here. I was quite happy with my run. If Seb was two seconds (faster) with hard tyres, then he made an amazing time.”
Car 20. SOLBERG/EDMONDSON
“Some problem with the car. I’m in low revs, it feels like three cylinders. It’s okay when you clear it.”
Car 21. ROUSSEL/DANAND
“It’s not bad. I tried to keep the tyre. It’s a crazy afternoon for them.”
Car 22. GREENSMITH/ANDERSSON
“It’s a very abrasive stage. I have chosen my stage to save the tyres on.”
Car 25. GRYAZIN/ALEKSANDROV
“Not the best tyre choice. We are using the old tyres just to have a better solution for tomorrow..”
Car 32. SUNINEN/MARKKULA
Crashed near the start of SS5.