After nine stages at the 2017 Rally Portugal, six drivers have held the rally lead and nine have claimed stage wins in a remarkable day of the FIA World Rally Championship.

It was the M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC driver Ott Tanak that took the lead after consistent runs on SS5 (Viana do Castelo 2) and SS6 (Caminha 2).

At that point, the top eight crews were covered by just 8.9s, with Jari Matti Latvala trailing Tanak by just 0.1s, followed by Hayden Paddon, Craig Breen, Kris Meeke, Sébastien Ogier, Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville.

However, SS7 (Ponte de Lima 2) would see chaos ensue, as three of the top five crews encountered major problems.

Firstly, second-placed Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT’s Latvala had a problem and rolled early in the stage. The Finn would limp to the end of the stage in road mode, losing almost five minutes in the process. Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville would also lose time in Latvala’s dust as he caught and passed the Yaris WRC in stage.

Then at 12 kilometres, Kris Meeke’s fifth-placed Citroën C3 WRC broke its suspension, leading to his retirement from the day.

Finally, it was third-placed New Zealander Hayden Paddon – who had just set two blistering split times to start the stage – that ground to a halt with a repeat of the electrical issue that saw his car shut down in SS3. This time, it would take a lot longer for Paddon to restart his i20 WRC, eventually losing almost 11 minutes.

After showing potential rally-winning pace, Paddon was philosophical. “The car just stopped again and we couldn’t start it. We did everything we could, checked every wire – then it started,” he said. “That’s our rally ruined now… We have to stay positive and make the most of the opportunity to test. I can’t buy any good luck at the moment.”

Following the drama of SS7, the surviving WRC crews enjoyed a relatively drama-free two runs through the amazingly tight 1.9-kilometre Braga Street Stage.

World Champion Sébastien Ogier took his first stage win on the first run on the city streets, before Mads Ostberg – who dropped significant time with a puncture in SS5 – was the winner of the day’s final stage, SS9.

Tanak would end the day on top of the standings, 4.3s ahead of the ever-consistent Hyundai of Dani Sordo, and 5.2s ahead of his M-Sport Ford team mate Sébastien Ogier. Craig Breen finished the day as the leading Citroën (+12.9s), despite breaking a damper on SS7, with the third Ford Fiesta WRC of Elfyn Evans in fifth (+18.3s).

“I’m really happy with the day,” said Tanak at the end of SS9. “The car has been behaving well. “

Dani Sordo was also pleased with his Friday, “of course it’s good to finish like this. It’s very important for tomorrow’s road position. It’s been a good fight with everyone today.”

Sébastien Ogier had one eye on a better road position for the second day after spending today sweeping. “I’m happy with my day. I didn’t do any mistakes and I tried as hard as I could… It will be a different story tomorrow.”

Andreas Mikkelsen had a trouble-free day at the front of the WRC2 field, winning every stage and taking a stunning fifth outright on the 1.9-kilometre Braga Street Stage in his Skoda Fabia R5.

Mikkelsen ultimately established an impressive lead of 1m4.5s over Teemu Suninen in the Ford Fiesta R5 and his Skoda team mate Pontus Tidemand, just 2.3s further back.

In WRC3, Poland’s Jakub Brzezinski leads after seven stages in his Citroën DS3 R3T, 2m12.3s ahead of Frenchman Raphaël Astier’s Peugeot 208 R2.

END OF DAY – AFTER SS9:

1. Ott TANAK                           Ford Fiesta WRC                           1:37:18.5
2. Dani SORDO                        Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC                +4.6
3. Sébastien OGIER                  Ford Fiesta WRC                            +5.0
4. Craig BREEN                        Citroën C3 WRC                             +12.9
5. Elfyn EVANS                         Ford Fiesta WRC                            +18.3

Dani Sordo was fastest in shakedown at Rally de Portugal on Thursday morning.

Just two-tenths of a second split the leading three drivers through the 4.61km Baltar test. Sordo edged championship leader Sébastien Ogier by 0.1sec, with Jari-Matti Latvala a further tenth behind.

Mads Østberg set the pace through the opening run of the sandy test in his Ford Fiesta. Sordo moved to the front in the second run before going even quicker in his third and final pass in a Hyundai i20 Coupe.

“It was a really good morning, I’m happy with the car,” said the Spaniard. “There’s nothing really different on the car compared to the last round in Argentina, but I made small changes in shakedown in the suspension which went in a good direction.

“The stages are soft in some places but other parts are very compact, so in the second pass the roads will be a little bit destroyed. The rally organisation has done a really good job on the roads ahead of the rally.”

Championship leader Ogier, driving a Fiesta, posted his best time in his third and final pass, while Latvala was one of several drivers to opt for additional runs in his Toyota Yaris.

Kris Meeke was the only top driver to complete five runs in his Citroën C3. The Briton’s best time, in his final pass, was good enough for fourth place and just 0.1sec behind Latvala. Elfyn Evans and Østberg completed the top six.

Leading times:

A thrilling first morning of Rally Potugal has seen five drivers able to claim stage wins over just three stages, with only 4.8 seconds separating the leading five crews.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver Jari Matti Latvala enters the day’s first service with a slender lead, despite running second on the road and suffering from a back ailment. The Finn was second in SS2 and took SS3 honours before coming back to the field in SS4, as Citroën’s Kris Meeke closed to just half a second.

Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon started the day on a mission, blasting through the 26.7-kilometre Viana do Castelo to take the SS2 stage win and snatch the rally lead by 2.4s over Latvala. However, his luck would change in SS3 as his i20 WRC unexpectedly shut down, forcing the Kiwi to do a restart and costing 9.7s to Latvala.

Latvala was pleased immediately after completing SS3, and setting a time that would ultimately win the stage and take the rally lead. “That should be good,” he said, before elaborating on his back injury. “Yesterday night I wasn’t sure if I would drive today. Luckily we have a good team and my recovery started overnight. I’m not 100 per cent – about 97.”

SS4 saw one of the more rare events in the FIA World Rally Championship, with three drivers – M-Sport Ford’s Ott Tanak, and Citroën’s Craig Breen and Kris Meeke – all setting the exact same time of 19:14.0 to claim stage honours.

The result would see all three close in on Latvala, with Meeke +0.5s, Tanak +1.2s and Breen +1.4s. Defending World Champion Sébastien Ogier sits in fifth in his Ford Fiesta WRC, just 4.8s behind the leader.

Irishman Breen could not wipe the smile from his face after the first three stages of Friday morning. “The car is an absolute pleasure. I have never driven anything so awesome in my life. It does exactly what I want. Feeling really good.”

Meanwhile in WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen continued his domination of the category in the Skoda Fabia R5. The Norwegian won all three morning stages to establish a 35.9s lead over team mate Pontus Tidemand.

Leading Positions After SS4:

1. Jari Matti LATVALA           Toyota Yaris WRC            48 :07.1
2. Kris Meeke                      Citroën C3 WRC              +0.5
3. Ott Tanak                       Ford Fiesta WRC              +1.2
4. Craig Breen                    Citroën C3 WRC                +1.4
5. Sébastien Ogier               Ford Fiesta WRC               +4.8

Kris Meeke insists he's 100 per cent fit and ready for Rally de Portugal, just three weeks after suffering the biggest accident of his career.

The Northern Irishman crashed his Citroën C3 twice at last month's YPF Rally Argentina - rolling eight times at high speed on the second occasion [see below].

This afternoon in Matosinhos, as he and co-driver Paul Nagle prepare to start the championship's Portuguese counter they won last year, Meeke said the car's safety systems did their job perfectly.

"For sure the car was designed very strong, and if there is such a thing as a perfect accident for a rally car, this was it. The car rolled and dissipated the energy and we were able to walk away."

"We had routine check-ups but I had no soreness or stiffness - I was just a biz dazed. No dramas at all. Now I feel 100 per cent fine," he told wrc.com. 

One of the pre-season title favourites, Meeke lies a lowly ninth in the standings after three retirements from five rounds and is aiming for a trouble-free run this week.

"It's been a really difficult start to the year. We have had lots of technical issues and I have made a few mistakes too. Hopefully here we have made some steps to improve that," he said.

"The simple goal this weekend is to try and enjoy it, and get a clean run on the technical front and from my own performance."