(Reuters) – Toyota’s world champion Kalle Rovanpera was heading for his first victory of the season after leading the Rally of Portugal by almost a minute on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Finn won five of the day’s seven gravel stages and has just four more to complete on Sunday, with an overnight lead of 57.5 seconds over Spaniard Dani Sordo in a Hyundai.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was in third place, 11.1 seconds behind Sordo.
Rovanpera had led by 10.8 seconds on Friday night but powered ahead on Saturday, the longest day of the rally over rough and dusty roads to the north-east of Porto and in the Cabreira mountains.
M-Sport Ford’s Pierre-Louis Loubet retired with damaged steering on the longest stage of all, the 37.24km Amarante 1, with team mate Ott Tanak moving up to fifth and behind Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi.
Toyota’s championship leader Elfyn Evans crashed out of the rally on Friday.
Rovanpera, only a point off the championship lead after four rounds, is set to go top on Sunday.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
