Wrc.com stage summary
Stage data: SS9, Vascao 1 (25.26 kilometres)
Stage description:
By Team Abu Dhabi co-driver Michael Orr: “Like the Felizes stage on Friday, this stage is probably remembered unfortunately for another Jari-Matti Latvala incident when he went off after just a few corners and managed to hit probably the only tree there was to hit. It’s quite a fast stage with lot of blind and fast sections over crests. One feature of that stage is the watersplash, which is about halfway through. It’s probably the deepest I’ve ever seen it this year and because we’re going through there untried and untested in these cars I’d say that everybody will have to crawl through it. Otherwise you could end up drowning the engine.”
How the action unfolded:
Sebastien Loeb has vented his anger at rival Mikko Hirvonen at the finish of stage nine of Vodafone Rally de Portugal.
Hirvonen suffered a puncture during the stage and had to stop to fit a spare. He resumed his charge in front of Loeb who lost time running in the dust clouds created by Hirvonen’s Ford Fiesta RS WRC.
Loeb switched on his windscreen wipers in an effort to see where he was going in his Citroen DS3 WRC but lost vital ground to leader, the Ford-driver Jari-Matti Latvala.
“I’m sure Sebastien is really mad but it happens, I’m sorry,” said Hirvonen, who lost almost two minutes. “We changed the tyre, the road was clear and we went.”
At the end of stage stop control Loeb nudged the bumper of Hirvonen’s car with his before telling WRC TV that Hirvonen had “destroyed” his race.
“He has a puncture and started eight seconds in front of me and didn’t let me pass to protect Latvala,” said Loeb, who is now 32.5s adrift of Latvala. “He destroyed my race. He had the puncture not me. We can play for third only. It’s finished.”
Loeb’s team-mate Sebastien Ogier was second fastest through the stage to close to within 5.6 seconds of Latvala.
“It was a hard stage,” said Latvala. “It was clear for us but there are so many rocks that you can’t take cuts. At the end of the stage I started to feel I had a puncture.”
Petter Solberg, on a charge to make up the time lost with a spate of punctures on Friday, won the stage.
Key moment:
Hirvonen suffers puncture and delays furious Loeb.
Credit: World Rally Championship (www.wrc.com)
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