Citroen driver Kris Meeke took advantage of his road position to take the lead in Rally Portugal after the three Friday morning stages.Having failed to score points in both Monaco and Sweden, the Northern Irishman started the stages in the advantageous position of 13th – as opposed to Sebastien Ogier, who had to sweep the road.
The Northern Irishman topped the first two morning runs and was only pipped by 0.2s in SS4 as a result, taking a lead of 11.5s over Sebastien Ogier.
The championship leader was only six seconds adrift after SS3, having taken second twice, but his deficit doubled by the end of the final stage.
Dani Sordo was the leading Hyundai in third, as the Spaniard, along with both Jari-Matti Latvala, quickest in SS4, and Ott Tanak, stayed within 10 seconds of Ogier.
Rally Argentina winner Hayden Paddon and Andreas Mikkelsen ended up sixth and seventh respectively, the former suffering from minor engine and differential issues.
Thierry Neuville lost half a minute in SS2 due to an admittedly over-cautious approach and sits eighth, with Citroen’s Stephane Lefebvre and top M-Sport driver Mads Ostberg completing the top 10.
Fourth Hyundai entrant Kevin Abbring was the first victim of the rally, as the Dutchman was forced to stop in SS3 with a broken steering arm.
Standings after SS4
Pos. Driver Team Gap
1
Kris Meeke
Paul Nagle
Citroen 44m03.6s
2
Sebastien Ogier
Julien Ingrassia
Volkswagen +11.5s
3
Dani Sordo
Marc Marti
Hyundai +14.6s
4
Jari-Matti Latvala
Miika Anttila
Volkswagen +19.9s
5
Ott Tanak
Raigo Molder
Ford +19.9s
6
Hayden Paddon
John Kennard
Hyundai +22.9s
7
Andreas Mikkelsen
Anders Jaeger
Volkswagen +24.2s
8
Thierry Neuville
Nicolas Gilsoul
Hyundai +40.8s
9
Stephane Lefebvre
Gabin Moreau
Citroen +48.9s
10
Mads Ostberg
Ola Floene
Ford +54.7s