{"id":3325,"date":"2025-05-16T22:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/?p=3325"},"modified":"2025-05-16T22:50:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T22:50:01","slug":"tanak-takes-control-as-day-2-rocks-rally-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/tanak-takes-control-as-day-2-rocks-rally-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"T\u00e4nak Takes Control as Day 2 Rocks Rally Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day 2 of the Vodafone Rally Portugal brought intense battles, unexpected twists, and a reminder that in rallying, luck is just as important as skill. The Portuguese gravel roads showed no mercy, catching out even some of the top contenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders Shuffle Early<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The day started with Elfyn Evans in the lead, followed closely by Ott T\u00e4nak and S\u00e9bastien Ogier, both just 0.2 seconds behind. But that quickly changed on the first stage of the day. T\u00e4nak came out on top, with Kalle Rovanper\u00e4 just 0.2 seconds behind him and Evans slipping to third, 2.8 seconds off the lead. Ogier struggled with his car setup and dropped to seventh, later saying it was “way too soft”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adrien Fourmaux \/ Photo by Jaanus Ree \/ Red Bull Content Pool <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trouble for Sesks and Fourmaux<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first major incident of the day came early. M\u0101rti\u0146\u0161 Sesks, who impressed in the shakedown, hit a rock only 3.86 km into the first stage of Friday. He had to stop and change a tire, losing more than three and a half minutes and falling to 85th overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came a real heartbreak for Adrien Fourmaux. He had been pushing hard and was only 0.8 seconds behind T\u00e4nak after Stage 7. But during Stage 8, he hit a rock at 7.5 km, breaking his front-left suspension. It was the end of his rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Long Day with a Tight Battle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the day ran more smoothly for the Rally1 drivers, but it was still long and demanding, 15 hours of competition. At the end of the day, T\u00e4nak leads with a time of 1:41:26.2, followed by Ogier +7.0 seconds behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a tight battle within the Toyota team for third place. Takamoto Katsuta currently holds it, but Rovanper\u00e4 is just 1.2 seconds behind. Thierry Neuville is in fifth after losing time to a spin in the morning. Pajari is sixth, followed by Evans, Munster, and McErlean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe \/ Photo by Jaanus Ree \/ Red Bull Content Pool <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Evans had a difficult day, acting as the “road sweeper”, clearing the gravel for others, which slowed him down. At the end of the day, he admitted, “We ought to be a bit better than this, I won\u2019t lie. A bit of a frustrating day overall”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Milestone for T\u00e4nak<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t just the lead that made the day special for Ott T\u00e4nak. He also marked a major career milestone \u2013 his 400th stage win in the World Rally Championship. “Nice number”, he said. “If there were as many championship titles as well, it would be better”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n