Rallying-Ogier leads into penultimate leg in Portugal

May 8 : World champion Sebastien Ogier took the lead in the Rally of Portugal on Friday after overnight leader and Toyota teammate Oliver Solberg went off the road and fell behind.

Frenchman Ogier ended the day 3.7 seconds clear of Hyundai's Thierry Neuville with Toyota's Sami Pajari third and 15.2 off the lead despite a broken windscreen late on.

Solberg, who lost his lead to Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux in the morning, was in fourth place and 1.2 behind Pajari with championship leader Elfyn Evans, also in a Toyota, fifth and with 28.1 to make up on Ogier.

Fourmaux's time at the front was short-lived as he also went off on stage eight after losing the brakes, suffering punctures on the front and rear right but continuing in sixth place.  

Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta, who led the championship until the previous round in the Canary Islands, was seventh and ahead of Hyundai's Dani Sordo.  

"We didn't have the best stage at the beginning and we collected a lot of dust. I'm happy to finish the day. Tomorrow is the start of a new rally," said nine times world champion Ogier.

"I think we can be happy with what we have done this afternoon as the morning was tricky." 

Crews face nine stages on Saturday, the penultimate and longest leg of the Matosinhos-based sandy gravel rally before the finish on Sunday.