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WRC - Portugal: SS3 is live and Ogier is through the first split.
We'll have to wait to see how that wonky tyre issue is hampering him, when Ostberg comes through next.
We'll have to wait to see how that wonky tyre issue is hampering him, when Ostberg comes through next.
Checkered flag
WRC - Portugal - SS2 results:
Stage times:
1 Sordo 19m41.5s
2 Tanak +1.3s
3 Mikkelsen +2.8s
4 Meeke +3.5s
5 Latvala +6.2s
6 Ogier +12.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Sordo
2 Mikkelsen +0.1s
3 Tanak +2.0s
4 Meeke +3.0s
5 Latvala +4.3s
6 Ogier +9.9s
7 Ostberg +12.2s
8 Paddon +13.8s
9 Kubica +17.6s
10 Neuville +31.1s
Stage times:
1 Sordo 19m41.5s
2 Tanak +1.3s
3 Mikkelsen +2.8s
4 Meeke +3.5s
5 Latvala +6.2s
6 Ogier +12.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Sordo
2 Mikkelsen +0.1s
3 Tanak +2.0s
4 Meeke +3.0s
5 Latvala +4.3s
6 Ogier +9.9s
7 Ostberg +12.2s
8 Paddon +13.8s
9 Kubica +17.6s
10 Neuville +31.1s
GP2 - Monaco: Pierre Gasly will start from pitlane when we get going again. No ETA on that at the moment.
WRC - Portugal:
Here's our stage guide courtesy of David Evans and our stage guide for today, Kris Meeke's co-driver Paul Nagle.
SS 3/6 Caminha (11.21 miles)
This stage takes the crews to within a stone’s throw of Spain. It finishes down near the town of Caminha on the banks of the River Mino, the natural divide between the two countries.
Nagle said: "The second stage this morning will be quite different to the long one in Ponte de Lima. It’s more fast and flowing and we’ll feel that after all the corners in the first one. There are a couple of Tarmac sections in this stage, but the thing to look out for here are the sudden corners, which really come upon you. There are quite a lot of hairpins in here as well – a lot of them downhill."
Here's our stage guide courtesy of David Evans and our stage guide for today, Kris Meeke's co-driver Paul Nagle.
SS 3/6 Caminha (11.21 miles)
This stage takes the crews to within a stone’s throw of Spain. It finishes down near the town of Caminha on the banks of the River Mino, the natural divide between the two countries.
Nagle said: "The second stage this morning will be quite different to the long one in Ponte de Lima. It’s more fast and flowing and we’ll feel that after all the corners in the first one. There are a couple of Tarmac sections in this stage, but the thing to look out for here are the sudden corners, which really come upon you. There are quite a lot of hairpins in here as well – a lot of them downhill."
Breaking news
WRC - Portugal - SS2 summary:
* Sordo shoots into the lead with a rapid time for Hyundai - despite an apparent misfire
* Mikkelsen is just 0.1s behind Sordo in second
* Tanak shows the new Fiesta's pace with second on the stage and third overall
* A puncture in the closing miles leaves Ogier sixth
* Evans stops with a mechanical problem
* And a course car catches fire, adding to the smoke from a number of forest fires nearby
* Sordo shoots into the lead with a rapid time for Hyundai - despite an apparent misfire
* Mikkelsen is just 0.1s behind Sordo in second
* Tanak shows the new Fiesta's pace with second on the stage and third overall
* A puncture in the closing miles leaves Ogier sixth
* Evans stops with a mechanical problem
* And a course car catches fire, adding to the smoke from a number of forest fires nearby
WRC - Portugal: Kubica is in, ninth fastest on both the stage and in the overall standings.
GP2 - Monaco: We have another aborted start. A number of cars were pushed into pitlane by officials after stalling and will now be given the opportunity to retake their original grid positions.
When the race gets underway, Rossi, Vandoorne, Sirotkin, Leal, Yelloly, Canamasas, Stanaway, Amberg and Evans will be on the soft tyres.
When the race gets underway, Rossi, Vandoorne, Sirotkin, Leal, Yelloly, Canamasas, Stanaway, Amberg and Evans will be on the soft tyres.
WRC - Portugal: It's rapid fire here in Portugal as the next stage goes live in a minute or so.
Keep an eye on Ogier on this stage, after that puncture he'll have to fit his spare - which is a single hard compound.
That could well disturb the handling of his Polo, with three soft tyres and a hard fitted!
Keep an eye on Ogier on this stage, after that puncture he'll have to fit his spare - which is a single hard compound.
That could well disturb the handling of his Polo, with three soft tyres and a hard fitted!
WRC - Portugal: Hayden Paddon and Khalid Al Qassimi will be next through, then we'll have Kubica.
GP2 - Monaco: False start. Nobuharu Matsushita has stalled, we're off for another formation lap. Slowly, as cars attempt to navigate the tight gaps on the grid.
Plenty of drivers have stalled, so officials are helping to push them along. The Arden drivers are currently side-by-side.
Plenty of drivers have stalled, so officials are helping to push them along. The Arden drivers are currently side-by-side.
WRC - Portugal: Tanak lost a bit of time at the end, he's second quickest, 1.3s slower than Sordo.
That places the new Fiesta third overall behind Sordo and Mikkelsen.
That places the new Fiesta third overall behind Sordo and Mikkelsen.
Quote
WRC - Portugal: Latvala was playing it cool, though, looking after his tyres and very aware of the smoke from the forest fires and the burning course car.
"I tried to be easy and not destroy the tyres. Maybe the pace was too careful."
"I tried to be easy and not destroy the tyres. Maybe the pace was too careful."
GP2 - Monaco: The formation lap is underway, GP2 does have a fine history of first-lap carnage here. Stay tuned.
WRC - Portugal: Martin Prokop finished the stage just under a minute off the pace, which he puts down to brake problems.
Latvala is through, 6.2s slower than our leader and pacesetter Sordo. He's fourth quickest. Bit underwhelming perhaps.
Latvala is through, 6.2s slower than our leader and pacesetter Sordo. He's fourth quickest. Bit underwhelming perhaps.
GP2 - Monaco: We're not far off the GP2 feature race in Monte Carlo. The skies are considerably clearer than yesterday's qualifying session.
If you missed that result, Alexander Rossi will start today's race on pole.
If you missed that result, Alexander Rossi will start today's race on pole.
Rossi/GP2/Monaco
WRC - Portugal: Now we look to Tanak, he was 0.9s faster than Sordo at the final split and was only 0.7s behind him after the superspecial - the new Fiesta could lead here...
WRC - Portugal: That's a surprising time for a very happy Sordo, who was concerned by a misfire (which he impersonates quite amusingly) in the opening miles.
WRC - Portugal: A quick look at the other screen confirms we can count - Sordo leads the Rally of Portugal by 0.1s!
WRC - Portugal: Neuville puts his poor time mainly due to bad driving and a lack of rhythm. But he's also running mostly hard tyres on the morning when everyone else has predominantly soft tyres.
Stopwatch
WRC - Portugal: Sordo comes through 2.8s faster than Mikkelsen - unless (and it wouldn't be the first time) our maths is wrong, that should give him the rally lead for Hyundai by just a tenth of a second!
WRC - Portugal: Kubica is onto the stage but it's not a great start. He's 5s off the pace at split one.
WRC - Portugal: Neuville finishes the stage nearly half a minute off Mikkelsen's pace - we'll soon find out what his problem was.
And then it'll be a rather quicker Hyundai through - Sordo was 2.1s faster than pacesetter Mikkelsen at the last split. He was 2.7s slower than the VW starting the morning.
And then it'll be a rather quicker Hyundai through - Sordo was 2.1s faster than pacesetter Mikkelsen at the last split. He was 2.7s slower than the VW starting the morning.
WRC - Portugal: Meeke is 0.7s slower than Mikkelsen as he finishes the stage. Second fastest so far, but with Sordo and Tanak looking so quick further back it'll be a while before we know where Meeke stands overall.
He confirms Evans was stopped with a likely mechanical problem and that a course car is on fire.
He confirms Evans was stopped with a likely mechanical problem and that a course car is on fire.
WRC - Portugal: Meanwhile, one M-Sport Ford may be in trouble but the other one is flying - Ott Tanak was fastest of all at split one and goes quicker than Mikkelsen again at split two.
And Dani Sordo is picking up the pace too - he's now quicker than Mikkelsen from the stage's mid-point onwards.
And Dani Sordo is picking up the pace too - he's now quicker than Mikkelsen from the stage's mid-point onwards.
WRC - Portugal: Evans was due to be next in, so we'll have a brief gap before Meeke arrives.
Meeke was 2.2s slower than Mikkelsen on the superspecial last night so he needs to outpace the VW by a fair bit in the final miles to take the outright lead here.
Meeke was 2.2s slower than Mikkelsen on the superspecial last night so he needs to outpace the VW by a fair bit in the final miles to take the outright lead here.
WRC - Portugal: Mikkelsen is, unsurprisingly, still raving about how much he likes the new VW.
Meeke is actually slightly faster than him at the final split and looks set to emerge as his main rival for the lead, as Latvala's times aren't great - he's 5.4s slower than Mikkelsen after two splits.
Evans has stopped and is asking for help from engineers over the radio. Not a great start for the new Fiesta.
Meeke is actually slightly faster than him at the final split and looks set to emerge as his main rival for the lead, as Latvala's times aren't great - he's 5.4s slower than Mikkelsen after two splits.
Evans has stopped and is asking for help from engineers over the radio. Not a great start for the new Fiesta.
Stopwatch
WRC - Portugal: Mikkelsen finishes the stage 9.3s faster than Ogier, looking very good for extending his rally lead by a big chunk.
WRC - Portugal: Ostberg is through, half a second slower than Ogier. Back on the stage, Meeke remains Mikkelsen's closest rival.
Ostberg reports that one of the course cars has stopped on the stage and is on fire... Combined with the other fires in the region today, that's creating a weird and dramatic backdrop.
"I think there's enough fire in there. It's like being in a movie set - fire, smoke, it doesn't look real, it looks like a game."
Ostberg reports that one of the course cars has stopped on the stage and is on fire... Combined with the other fires in the region today, that's creating a weird and dramatic backdrop.
"I think there's enough fire in there. It's like being in a movie set - fire, smoke, it doesn't look real, it looks like a game."
Quote
WRC - Portugal: Ogier is puzzled as to how he's damaged that tyre.
"I don't understand why, to be honest, I had a very clean drive with no mistakes."
"I don't understand why, to be honest, I had a very clean drive with no mistakes."
Stopwatch
WRC - Portugal: Ogier completes the stage in 19m53.6s. He's hopping out to inspect the VW - he's got a right rear puncture.
WRC - Portugal: Potential problem for Neuville, the Hyundai man is 17s off the pace at split two, slowest so far there by some margin.
Mikkelsen passes the final split and he's 7.1s quicker than Ogier there.
Mikkelsen passes the final split and he's 7.1s quicker than Ogier there.
WRC - Portugal: Going seems to be getting tougher for Ogier as the stage goes on. Ostberg is just three tenths slower than him at the final split having been 3.9s down earlier on.
WRC - Portugal: And now to skew our comparisons a little, Ogier hasn't registered a split time at split three.
He's still running on the tracking system, this is just a timing glitch, and he now clocks in safely past the final split of the stage.
So we can't tell you how Mikkelsen compares to Ogier right now, but we can say he's 6.4s up on Ostberg at split three.
Still going well for Meeke, he's quicker than Ogier at split two and second only to Mikkelsen.
He's still running on the tracking system, this is just a timing glitch, and he now clocks in safely past the final split of the stage.
So we can't tell you how Mikkelsen compares to Ogier right now, but we can say he's 6.4s up on Ostberg at split three.
Still going well for Meeke, he's quicker than Ogier at split two and second only to Mikkelsen.
WRC - Portugal: Kris Meeke, winner last time out in Argentina, is third quickest at split one - 1.7s off Mikkelsen's pace and four tenths off Ogier.
Meeke/Citroen/RallyPortugal
WRC - Portugal: We're not even 10 miles in yet but it's already looking very encouraging for Mikkelsen. At split two (just over one third of the stage distance) he's now 3.7s quicker than Ogier and 7.2s faster than Ostberg.
WRC - Portugal: Ostberg was slightly faster than Ogier from splits one to two, but overall he's still 3.5s down after the VW"s superior pace through the opening miles.
Elfyn Evans and the new M-Sport Ford have clocked in third fastest at split one, behind Mikkelsen and Ogier, ahead of Ostberg.
Elfyn Evans and the new M-Sport Ford have clocked in third fastest at split one, behind Mikkelsen and Ogier, ahead of Ostberg.
WRC - Portugal: Mikkelsen is picking up where he left off yesterday, our current rally leader is 1.3s quicker than team leader Ogier at split one.
WRC - Portugal: Road cleaning isn't hurting Ogier too much so far - he's 3.9s faster than Ostberg at the first split.
WRC - Portugal: We're running in championship order as usual for day one this morning.
Sebastien Ogier is first on the road, followed by Mads Ostberg and Andreas Mikkelsen. All three are onto SS2 now.
Jari-Matti Latvala's painful start to the season means he's well-placed if the roads do prove dusty and difficult - he goes in ninth.
Sebastien Ogier is first on the road, followed by Mads Ostberg and Andreas Mikkelsen. All three are onto SS2 now.
Jari-Matti Latvala's painful start to the season means he's well-placed if the roads do prove dusty and difficult - he goes in ninth.
WRC - Portugal: Dodging any fire hazard, David Evans - with the help of a new rally-winning co-driver - takes you through our first stage.
"SS2/5 Ponte de Lima (17.10 miles). This stage was on the itinerary for the first ever World Rally Championship Rally of Portugal in 1973 and is a staple part of a rally in this part of the world. It's just as much of a classic as Fafe, but without the drama of the big jump.
"Starting just north of the town of Ponte de Lima (so-called because it sits on the River Lima), the road climbs high into the Serra de Arga mountains."
Paul Nagle said: "This stage is so, so twisty. It's corner, corner, corner all the time. It’s really tricky because it's so narrow as well.
"The average speed will be low in here, well below 100km/h; the straights are really short. It'll feel like this stage is going on and on – but that doesn't mean it can't be a classic. It's still a great stage.”
"SS2/5 Ponte de Lima (17.10 miles). This stage was on the itinerary for the first ever World Rally Championship Rally of Portugal in 1973 and is a staple part of a rally in this part of the world. It's just as much of a classic as Fafe, but without the drama of the big jump.
"Starting just north of the town of Ponte de Lima (so-called because it sits on the River Lima), the road climbs high into the Serra de Arga mountains."
Paul Nagle said: "This stage is so, so twisty. It's corner, corner, corner all the time. It’s really tricky because it's so narrow as well.
"The average speed will be low in here, well below 100km/h; the straights are really short. It'll feel like this stage is going on and on – but that doesn't mean it can't be a classic. It's still a great stage.”
By: Matt Beer, Jack Benyon, Mitchell Adam, Mark Glendenning, David Evans, Edd Straw, Peter Mills, Gary Watkins, Glenn Freeman
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