Latvala is out of the rally as we went off the road in SS 5 Tavira 1 (25.01km).
A Ford spokesperson said: “Jari-Matti hit a rock, which threw him off the road into a ditch where his car is stuck at an angle of 45 degrees. From the angle the car is at it’s not possible to assess if there’s damage to the suspension. The police are not letting spectators try to help get the car on the road for safety reasons so they are stuck.”
Drama for the second Ford manufacture driver in Portugal. Petter Solberg is also out of the rally in stage 6 Alcarias 1 (25.15km).
In Portugal the weather conditions are too bad with rain and fog and slippery roads.
Results after SS 6:
1. M. Hirvonen 1:06:16.1
2. M. Ostberg +31.4
3. E. Novikov +48.4
4. P. Sandell 2:32.6
5. N. Al Attiyah +3:01.2
6. P. Van Merksteijn (JR) +3:06.6
Sebastien Loeb comments his crash in SS 2 during the night stage:
“I just didn’t hear well the note. I thought left it was right. It was like that; I went on the wrong side so I was off the line. It was just over the crest so I couldn’t see the corner. Finally when I was off the line it was too late but luckily it happens not so often. It was a completely blind corner in the dark so for sure it was more difficult. It was a misunderstanding.”