Zoom Great run from Duval

Rally Portugal's fifth stage brought surprises – as well as difficulties – as the second passage over the Loulé stage got underway after a visit to the service park. A fantastic drive in wet conditions at the wheel of his Fiat Grande Punto saw François Duval claim this test, a full 4.8 seconds ahead of Brice Tirabassi's Peugeot 207.

Manfred Stohl brought his Peugeot into third, his best result so far on this rally, in a tie with 1994 WRC champion Didier Auriol's Fiat.

Several Peugeot 207 Super 2000s came next: Jan Kopecky and Bruno Magalhaes took positions five and six, beating Luca Rossetti and Nicolas Vouilloz. The Frenchman blamed his 8.5-second gap on the Italian to bad weather conditions.

Juho Hanninen's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX was 22.8 seconds away from the stage leader, but a mere 00:00.3 away from Vouilloz in ninth position, once more accomplishing the best performance of the Group N drivers.

Giandomenico Basso completed the top ten list for this run as he made do with misting on his windshield due to the rain and humidity, but lost precious time on the way.

Peugeot driver Freddy Loix three minutes when he had to stop and change a tyre, causing him to drop down the rankings. Andreas Aigner also lost time with his Mitusbishi thanks to a tyre's slow leak.

Luca Rossetti managed to reclaim the overall lead of Rally Portugal, but François Duval's great pace skyrocketed him to second position, only 00:00.7 away from the Italian; the Belgian must now be watched closely. 1.9 seconds down from Duval, Nicolas Vouilloz sits in third, therefore keeping the provisional podium within a three-second span.

Almost a dozen sconds away, Giandomenico Basso occupies fourth position, with Jan Kopecky hovering nearby in fifth.

Daniel BASTIEN
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