Kalle Rovanperä leads after a challenging day in Rally Portugal

Rovanperä finished Friday in first position at the Rally of Portugal, maintaining a slight advantage over his teammate Sébastien Ogier. During a competition characterized by constant changes in leadership and a narrow gap between the top four, Rovanperä demonstrated his skill in handling an understeering Toyota GR Yaris.

After a modest start, Rovanperä significantly improved, achieving times among the top three in most of the day's stages. He moved to first place in the second test in the afternoon at Lousã and was the fastest in the penultimate stage at Arganil. However, Ogier closed the day with an outstanding performance in Mortágua, reducing the gap to just one second from Rovanperä, who admitted to having done everything possible given the state of his tires.

Tire management was crucial, with a preference for Pirelli soft compounds in the morning, suitable for sandy surfaces, while hard tires were used in the afternoon as the stages became rougher and temperatures rose.

Takamoto Katsuta, also from Toyota, started strong, remaining competitive and satisfied with his performance, finishing the day in third position behind Ogier. Ott Tänak experienced difficulties with the feel of his Hyundai i20 N, ranking just behind in fourth place.

The day was also marked by setbacks for other competitors such as Elfyn Evans, who faced complications after losing his co-driver's notes and suffering a tire issue. Despite the challenges, Thierry Neuville managed to stay close to the leaders, benefiting from sweeping a faster line for the competitors that followed him.

In the WRC2 category, Oliver Solberg initially led after avoiding issues on challenging terrain, building a significant lead. However, he was penalized one minute for stunts at the end of a stage, which cost him the first position in the category.

The rally will continue with the longest stage of the event, including four tests in two loops before concluding with the special stage at Lousada. Strategy and tire management will continue to be key in determining the leaders in this intense competition.