Rovanperä’s Rally Hopes Crushed by Collision as Sébastien Ogier Takes Lead

The hopes of achieving a hat-trick of wins at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal were dashed for Kalle Rovanperä. The Finnish driver, who had a commanding win in the first stage on Saturday, saw his chances disappear on stage 11. Rovanperä misjudged a corner and collided with a tree, causing his Toyota GR Yaris to roll over. Fortunately, both Rovanperä and his co-driver emerged unscathed, but they will not continue in the rally today. Oliver Solberg, who was leading the WRC2 category, also met a similar fate shortly after passing Rovanperä’s car. Sébastien Ogier now leads the rally, with Yohan Rossel taking the top spot in WRC2. Ott Tanak, Thierry Neuville, and Elfyn Evans all had slides at the same corner, 2.5km into the stage.