A hat-trick of Vodafone Rally de Portugal victories is no longer on the cards for Kalle Rovanperä after the Finn rolled out of contention in stage 11 on Saturday morning.
Having claimed a commanding win in Saturday’s opening stage at Felgueiras, Rovanperä seemed poised to further solidify his lead
However, the 23-year-old’s aspirations came crashing down in the Montim stage when he misjudged a fast right-hander over a crest, clipping a tree on the outside which sent his Toyota GR Yaris into a roll.
Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen emerged unscathed from the incident but will take no further part in today’s proceedings.
Further drama unfolded as Oliver Solberg, who led the WRC2 category overnight, suffered a similar fate. Shortly after passing Rovanperä’s stricken car, the Swede veered wide on a right-hand corner and rolled his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
With Rovanperä and Solberg sidelined, Sébastien Ogier took the rally lead while Yohan Rossel swooped to the top spot in WRC2.
Ott Tanak, Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans all spun at the same corner 2.5km into the stage.
