Dani Sordo has made it a hat trick of stage wins on day two of Vodafone Rally de Portugal, round four of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.
Driving a latest-specification, Prodrive-run MINI John Cooper Works WRC, Sordo completed the fog, mud and rain-affected stage 21.8s faster than M-Sport Ford Fiesta driver Evgeny Novikov as he continues to benefit from running first on the road.
“It was really, really difficult conditions, more difficult than the other stages,” said Sordo. “It was impossible to see the road.”
Mikko Hirvonen was third quickest in his factory Citroen DS3 WRC to increase his overall lead to 36.3s over Novikov, who has moved ahead of Mads Ostberg after the Norwegian was slowed by a left-rear puncture on his Adapta Fiesta.
“It is so slippery, so muddy,” said Hirvonen. “The changes of grip are so sudden that anything is possible. I am leading but that doesn’t mean it is easy.”
Czech Ford National Team driver Martin Prokop climbed from seventh to fifth in his Fiesta, despite reporting worsening stage and weather conditions. “It was the most incredible. I didn’t think it could be worse than the first two stages. So much heavy rain and fog, I could see nothing. There was no chance to go faster. I had some big moments in the muddy places. The car is perfect, the team did a good job with the set-up. The only problem is the conditions.”
The surviving crews are now heading to Faro for a 30-minute service halt. Stage eight, the repeat of the 25.01-kilometre Tavira test, gets underway at 15:56hrs local time.