Despite enduring the worst road conditions of the frontrunners, Ogier roared up the leaderboard from sixth to second. He won all three afternoon speed tests to reduce yesterday’s 25.9sec deficit to his Volkswagen Polo R team-mate to 9.5sec.Tyre choice and management was a crucial factor over the six mountain stages in northern Portugal. Ahead of the last test, Latvala was confident his hard compound Michelins would give him an advantage over Ogier’s three hard and one soft tyres.But the Finn, who overshot a junction in the opening stage, conceded almost five seconds to give Ogier a chance of victory through tomorrow’s final three tests.“The tyres started to fade near the end. Maybe...
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