Just when it seemed like Day 3 of Rally Portugal would end without any surprises, drama struck in the final stages and it changed everything.
The day began with Ott Tänak leading the rally with a time of 1:41:26.2, followed by Sébastien Ogier just 7 seconds behind. Takamoto Katsuta was in third, barely ahead of his teammate Kalle Rovanperä, who was only 1.2 seconds behind.
A Strong Start… Then Trouble
In the first stage of Saturday, Ogier cut the gap to Tänak by 2.6 seconds, getting within striking distance. “Always looking forward to the fight with [Tänak]”, Ogier said. “It won’t be easy”.
The first setback of the day came when Tänak suffered a puncture in SS 3 (Cabaceiras de Basto). Even with the issue, he still finished third in the stage and held onto the overall lead, though now by just 2 seconds.
Later, in SS14, Rovanperä passed Katsuta to move into third place after Katsuta also had a puncture. The difference between them was only 0.4 seconds, keeping the battle alive. By the end of the morning loop, Tänak had extended his lead over Ogier to 11.8 seconds, after Ogier struggled with a poor run.
The Turning Point
Everything seemed to be under control heading into the afternoon. But during the second-to-last stage of the day (SS17), disaster struck for Tänak. His power steering failed, and he had to wrestle the car through the stage with both hands on the wheel. His co-driver Martin Järveoja even helped by changing gears, allowing Tänak to focus on steering.
Because of the issue, Tänak lost a big chunk of time and dropped from first to third place, now 28.1 seconds behind Ogier, who moved into the lead.
The final question of the day was whether Tänak would even hold onto third, as Thierry Neuville was closing in. Despite the challenge, Tänak managed to stay in third overall, but was clearly disappointed. He said, “Part of the game, I guess. Very unfortunate, but we gave everything from our side“.
Even Ogier showed sympathy, saying, “It’s not the way you want to win any fight. We were both pushing really hard, trying to keep the pressure. It’s still not over. Tomorrow is a long day.”
Where Things Stand
At the end of Saturday, Sébastien Ogier leads the rally with a time of 3:01:04.7, followed by Kalle Rovanperä, who is 27.6 seconds behind. After suffering a power steering issue, Ott Tänak now sits in third place, 36.1 seconds off the lead. Thierry Neuville is not far behind in fourth, while Takamoto Katsuta, who struggled with grip in the afternoon, has dropped down the order. Sami Pajari holds sixth, with Elfyn Evans in seventh after a tough weekend so far. Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster round out the top positions.
With just one day left in Rally Portugal, only one question remains: Has Tänak lost his chance to win? Or will Sunday bring another twist?
As Ogier said, “It’s not over. Tomorrow is a long day.” Anything can still happen.