Third when day 2 is finished in Portugal

Day 2 in Portugal is done, Petter and Phil has climbed on the overall classification and is now in third place. Sebastien Ogier is still leading the rally and Sebastien Loeb is second. Jari-Matti Latvala went off the road on the second stage of the day and had to retire.

- Just before the two final stages of the day everything were perfect, says Petter Solberg. – I was just seconds adrift of Loeb and the tyres were not so bad, but on SS12 one tyre just delaminated and then I had to push a little less to make sure we could make trough the rest of the day. 50 seconds behind Ogier and 30 seconds up to Loeb is a bit more than I wanted, but there is still 5 more stages to go tomorrow and we will not give up!

Tyre wear were the big issue on the second day here in Portugal. Because of the abrasiveness of the surface, it’s easy to pick up a puncture – or like Petter experienced, the tyre can just delaminate. With only one or two spares in the car, you need to be careful and constantly watch the condition of the tires.

Rally Portugal continues with 5 more stages on Sunday, and Petter Solberg will be car number three on the road. First stage starts 0648hrs (local time).

Overall classification day 2
1. Ogier, Citroën
2. Loeb, Citroën +21,1
3. Petter, Citroën +52,2
4. Sordo, Citroën +1.05,7
5. Hirvonen, Ford +1.13,9
6. Henning, Ford +3.02,8
7. Wilson, Ford +4.41,8
8. Østberg, Subaru +5.36,7
9. Raikkonen, Citroën +7.29,7

Rally de Portugal – day 2

SS8 Almodovar 1 – 26,20km: 1. Loeb 16.40,4 – 2. Latvala +2,8 – 3. Hirvonen +3,2 – 4. Petter +4,0 – 5. Ogier +8,4 – 6. Sordo +11,5 – 7. Østberg +27,6 – 8. Henning +29,3 – 9. Wilson +32,1 – 10. Raikkonen +45,0

SS9 Vascao 1 – 25,23km: 1. Loeb 16.31,2 – 2. Petter +3,1 – 3. Sordo +8,1 – 4. Ogier +11,1 – 5. Hirvonen +12,3 – 6. Østberg +29,9 – 7. Henning +33,3 – 8. Wilson +41,8 – 9. Raikkonen +46,5. Latvala off the road 400 mtrs into the stage.

SS10 S Bras de Al Portel 1 – 16,12km: 1. Petter 11.43,4 – 2. Sordo +0,3 – 3. Loeb +1,2 – 4. Ogier +3,6 – 5. Hirvonen +5,2 – 6. Henning +11,3 – 7. Østberg +11,3 – 8. Wilson +23,7

Overall classification after SS10
1. Ogier
2. Loeb +22,9
3. Sordo +23,4
4. Petter +33,9
5. Hirvonen +44,5
6. Henning +2.11,5
7. Wilson +3.09,2
8. Østberg +3.30,2
9. Raikkonen +4.59,7

- I’m very happy, everything is perfect! That last stage was very loose, so a stagewin there was good. Lost some time this morning, but we made some changes that turned out to work very well.

SS11 Almodovar 2 – 26,20km: 1. Ogier 16.38,7 – 2. Petter +2,5 – 3. Sordo +4,6 – 4. Loeb +6,0 – 5. Hirvonen +12,0 – 6. Henning +23,3 – 7. Østberg +28,3 – 8. Wilson +30,0

SS12 Vascao 2 – 25,23km: 1. Loeb 16.29,2 – 2. Ogier +5,8 – 3. Petter +16,4 – 4. Hirvonen +19,4 – 5. Henning +24,0 – 6. Sordo +29,6 – 7. Wilson +36,3

SS13 – S Bras de Al Portel 2 – 16,12km: 1. Loeb 11.39,9 – 2. Ogier +2,0 – 3. Hirvonen +5,8 – 4. Petter +7,2 – 5. Henning +11,8 – 6. Sordo +15,9 – 7. Wilson +47,7

Overall classification day 2:
1. Ogier, Citroën
2. Loeb, Citroën +21,1
3. Petter, Citroën +52,2
4. Sordo, Citroën +1.05,7
5. Hirvonen, Ford +1.13,9
6. Henning, Ford +3.02,8

Petter and Phil 5th – day 1 in Portugal

The first day here in Portugal is done, and Petter and Phil is fifth in the overall classification. Sebastien Ogier is leading the rally, and Loeb is second.

- I am quite happy with the day, even though I might be a little more behind than I was hoping for, says Petter Solberg. – I lost some time on the morning loop of stages because of a bent steering arm and a puncture. And I also had a puncture on the final stage of the day. But, I have a good start position for tomorrow and I know I can push a lot more than I did today.

Petter hit a concrete barrier with a wheel on Thursdays super special and there was no time at the 10 minutes service this morning to repair it. Petter and Phil had to complete the three first stages of today with steering problems.

Rally Portugal continues with 6 more stages Saturday. First car is on the road from 0927 hrs local time. Petter and Phil will be starting as car number five.

Overall classification day 1:
1. Ogier, Citroën
2. Sordo, Citroën +26,6
3. Loeb, Citroën +44,8
4. Hirvonen, Ford +46,9
5. Petter, Citroën +49,9
6. Latvala, Ford +1.02,8
7. Henning, Ford +1.20,7
8. Wilson, Ford +1.54,6

Rally de Portugal – day 1

Itinerary/ classification Friday (local time)

SS2 Santa Klara 1 22,72km: 1. Sordo 14.9,3 – 2. Ogier +1,8 – 3. Loeb +5,7 – 4. Hirvonen +6,9 – 5. Petter +10,6 – 6. Latvala +16,0 – 7. Østberg +16,5 – 8. Wilson +20,1 – 9. Henning +28,5 – 10. Raikkonen +36,8

SS3 Ourique 1 – 20,21km: 1. Ogier 13.02,5 – 2. Sordo +0,7 – 3. Petter +2,1 – 4. Hirvonen +8,6 – 5. Loeb +10,2 – 6. Henning +11,5 – 7. Latvala +12,1 – 8. Wilson +18,7 – 9. Villagra +32,5 – 10. Raikkonen +34,5

SS4 Silves 1 – 21,36km: 1. Ogier 12.06,3 – 2. Sordo +3,1 – 3. Hirvonen +7,2 – 4. Latvala +7,5 – 5. Petter +8,0 – 6. Loeb +8,4 – 7. Henning +10,1 – 8. Wilson +14,3

Overall classification after SS4
1. Ogier
2. Sordo +1.8
3. Hirvonen +19,9
4. Petter +20,7
5. Loeb +23,0
6. Latvala +35,1
7. Henning +46,1
8. Wilson +52,3
9. Østberg +1.05,3
10. Raikkonen +1.48,5

- The day has been OK so far, but I have not pushed very hard. The incident with the concrete yesterday evening at the super special, caused a bent steering arm and there were not enough time during the morning service to fix it. I’ve had some problems with left hand corners today because of that, and overshoot a junction on SS4.

SS5 Santa Klara 2 – 22,72km: 1. Ogier 13.54,0 – 2. Sordo +5,3 3. Hirvonen +6,1 – 4. Latvala +8,1 – 5. Petter +8,4 – 6. Loeb +13,5 – 7. Henning +17,6 – 8. Østberg +22,8

SS6 Ourique 2 – 20,21km: 1. Ogier +13.03,8 – 2. Sordo +1,4 – 3. Petter +1,8 – 4. Loeb +5,7 – 5. Latvala +5,8 – 6. Henning +6,6 – 7. Hirvonen +10,1 – 8. Wilson +16,3 – Østberg +22,8

SS7 Silves 2 – 21,36km: 1. Ogier 12.05,5 – 2. Loeb +2,6 – 3. Henning +10,4 – 4. Hirvonen +10,8 – 5. Latvala +13,8 – 6. Sordo +18,1 – 7. Petter +19,0 – 8. Wilson +19,2