Sebastien Ogier has extended his lead of Vodafone Rally de Portugal after sharing the fastest time with Jari-Matti Latvala on stage five.
Ogier and Latvala both completed the 22.99-kilometre Santa Clara test in a time of 13m50.9s. As a result, Latvala has moved into second overall, two-tenths of a second ahead of Sebastien Loeb, who was third fastest through the run.
“It’s okay, it’s going well,” said Citroen driver Ogier. “The car is perfect and for now [there’s] no problem. I have to be calm with no worry. It is just the start of the rally.”
Ford ace Latvala added: “It felt much quicker than the first time through the stage. I am happy with that.”
Petter Solberg’s efforts to make up the time he lost with a puncture on stage three suffered a blow when he suffered a right-rear puncture and dropped more than 20 seconds.
Former Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen also suffered a puncture - his left-rear tyre failing approximately 11 kilometres into the stage. “I didn’t feel anything,” the Finn said.
Standings after SS5:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 57m13.1s |
| 02 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +6.0s |
| 03 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +6.2s |
| 04 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +6.9s |
| 05 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +1m18.9s |
| 06 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m32.9s |
| 07 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m44.5s |
| 08 | A. ARAUJO / M. RAMALHO | Mini John Cooper Works S2000 | +2m38.8s |
| 09 | B. SOUSA / A.COSTA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +2m57.1s |
| 10 | F. VILLAGRA / J. PÉREZ COMPANC | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +3m10.6s |
| 11 | K. RAIKKONEN /K. LINDSTROM | Citroën DS3 WRC | +3m27.3s |
| 12 | K. AL QASSIMI / M. ORR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +3m27.8s |
| 13 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +4m11.8s |
| 14 | H. PADDON / J. KENNARD | Subaru Impreza STI | +4m14.0s |
| 15 | A. GRONDAL / V. ENGAN | Subaru Impreza STI | +4m37.8s |