WRC Portugal and MotoGP Mugello
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Sordo 1.3s slower than Mikkelsen on SS9, those two will be an intriguing battle for third overall tomorrow.
Meeke now into SS8, and minutes away from holding the rally lead into tomorrow.
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Mikkelsen beats Ogier this time, he's 0.1s up on SS9.
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Ostberg finishes SS9 3.2s slower than Ogier.
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That would suggest that Meeke will indeed carry a his half-minute lead into the evening's stages.
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As soon as we know for sure, we'll give you the overall leaderboard.
Information
Our timing shows that the SS5 times have now been tweaked.
However, it's currently giving Meeke a time of 19m20.6s. Or in other words, a win by 5.2s! That would give Meeke an overall lead of 35.2s!
We'll wait and see if this is verified before confirming it.
However, it's currently giving Meeke a time of 19m20.6s. Or in other words, a win by 5.2s! That would give Meeke an overall lead of 35.2s!
We'll wait and see if this is verified before confirming it.
David Evans
Another man with a love of all things rally retro, David Evans, has done plenty of exploring in Portugal.
He's also spotted a bit of history:
"This picture shows an Ari Vatanen Ford Escort, Juha Kankkunen Lancia Delta Integrale and Tommi Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer - which is the weak link in terms of Rally of Portugal?"
"It's AV, I'm afraid. Still absolutely adored in these parts, Ari never won in Portugal. Tommi and KKK took two each."
He's also spotted a bit of history:
"This picture shows an Ari Vatanen Ford Escort, Juha Kankkunen Lancia Delta Integrale and Tommi Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer - which is the weak link in terms of Rally of Portugal?"
"It's AV, I'm afraid. Still absolutely adored in these parts, Ari never won in Portugal. Tommi and KKK took two each."
Stopwatch
Sordo is in and he narrowly beats Ogier's time. He's 0.4s quicker, and takes his gap over the Frenchman to 6.9s overall. Good stuff from the Spaniard!
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Sordo is still the fastest man on stage, he's now 1.1s up on Ogier's benchmark on the second stage. Mikkelsen crosses the stage 3.1s down on Ogier.
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"It's rough out there, but the car can take a beating," says Ostberg. "The gearbox is working better this afternoon and it's improving with the grip."
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Ostberg is now in and he's 8.2s slower than Ogier.
Plenty of cars still heading through (indeed we still have one last car to complete SS2), but that's where we're going to leave our live coverage for now.
Fear not; after a quick co-driver change, we'll be back online in plenty of time for the start of SS5, the Ponte de Lima re-run, which should get going in three hours' time.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
Fear not; after a quick co-driver change, we'll be back online in plenty of time for the start of SS5, the Ponte de Lima re-run, which should get going in three hours' time.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
Autosport
Here's our report from the morning's action, as Kris Meeke stole an unlikely early Rally Portugal lead: 
Fuchs on the other hand seems quite content, and ekes out another 0.3s over Evans to consolidate what will be second in WRC2, once Tidemand comes in.
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Evans is in and is still not particularly happy - his times relative to WRC2 rival Fuchs appear to have stabilised on this stage, though.
Tidemand is a different story, however, and is faster than the pair by 3s through the first split.
Tidemand is a different story, however, and is faster than the pair by 3s through the first split.
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"I think the tyre gave up after 10,15 kilometres," says Tanak, who went for four soft and one hard DMACK tyres this morning.
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Tanak is now through, 8.6s slower than Ogier.
Further back in the pack, Meeke is 1.8s up on Ogier's split one time.
Further back in the pack, Meeke is 1.8s up on Ogier's split one time.
Latvala is 8.1s down on Ogier at the stage end.
"It was a bit of difficult start, I didn't have the best feeling. It was a bit damp, my set-up was a little bit too stiff."
"It was a bit of difficult start, I didn't have the best feeling. It was a bit damp, my set-up was a little bit too stiff."
A quick turnaround on this one, incidentally. Ogier will be off on SS3 in around a quarter of an hour.
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"I want to save the tyres a bit because it's a little warm," says a measured Sordo. "It was OK to be honest for the first stage."
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A shame for Sordo, who completes the stage 2.5s slower than Ogier.
That's better than Hyundai team-mate Neuville, though, who is 14.8s down on the benchmark halfway through the stage.
That's better than Hyundai team-mate Neuville, though, who is 14.8s down on the benchmark halfway through the stage.
10 cars still on the stage at the moment, which includes Kris Meeke.
Mikkelsen is now through and 7.4s down. Sordo will be the next man through, and is still on course to better Ogier's time.
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"I pushed quite hard and I was happy with my stage. I was a little surprised to see the time, but I was quite happy," says Ostberg, who is slowest so far.
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So a couple of updates - Ostberg is now through as well, a full 22s down on Ogier. It'll be interesting to hear what he thinks might have gone wrong.
After his promising start, Tanak is now 1.5s down on Ogier through the second split.
After his promising start, Tanak is now 1.5s down on Ogier through the second split.
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Paddon is through, 2.7s down on Ogier.
"The grip is quite good," he says, starting positively, "[But] the engine just doesn't feel right at the moment so we need to take a look at that."
"The grip is quite good," he says, starting positively, "[But] the engine just doesn't feel right at the moment so we need to take a look at that."
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After the first 17.05 miles, Ogier reckons his set-up was slightly wrong: "I didn't expect this grip, I have understeer. It's a bit soft.
"It's all sorted," he continues, when asked about a minor boost problem from last ngiht.
"It's all sorted," he continues, when asked about a minor boost problem from last ngiht.
Stopwatch
Ogier completes the stage in a time of 19m23.4s.
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Paddon now also into the final miles of the stage. He's 2.1s slower than Ogier at split three.
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Ostberg is slowest of all so far by the looks of things - he's a slightly perplexing 9.3s down at the second split.
Latvala is slower than VW team-mate Ogier through the first five miles or so by 1.1s.
Latvala is slower than VW team-mate Ogier through the first five miles or so by 1.1s.
Ogier is on his way to the stage end now. He clocks the third split in 15m19.7s.
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...but Sordo can go quicker. Fifth on the road, he's 0.9s up through the first split.
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Paddon loses 0.2s through the second split, and is 1.4s down now on Ogier.
Ostberg and Mikkelsen are also through split one - but neither are as quick as Ogier.
Ostberg and Mikkelsen are also through split one - but neither are as quick as Ogier.
David Evans
The emphasis on tyre allocation has been shifted for this year’s Rally of Portugal, with the drivers being given more softs (24) than hards (16) – last year it was the reverse. No more than 24 of the 40 covers can be used. On tyres, J-ML said: “The tyre choice can be a bit tricky, we will see some different choices. The temperatures are getting higher, but still you can run the soft and get some benefit from the soft – but, on the other hand, can the soft cope? Especially at the front. There’s some sections with a harder base which will be difficult for the soft tyre.
“You need the hard tyre in some places; it will be the mixed package or you could play the game and go with the full softs. It depends on where you are on the road as well, if you are further back, you are more likely to use harder tyres because you will be more on the harder surface beneath the sand.”
“You need the hard tyre in some places; it will be the mixed package or you could play the game and go with the full softs. It depends on where you are on the road as well, if you are further back, you are more likely to use harder tyres because you will be more on the harder surface beneath the sand.”
While things are still a little quiet out on the stage, here's a quick update from our man DAVID EVANS on a different tyre situation from last year...
By: Geoff Creighton
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