Thierry Neuville recorded the fastest time on the initial stage of Rally de Portugal, covering a distance of 2.94km. He was 0.6 seconds quicker than Sebastian Ogier.
The current leader of the championship is well aware that he will face a challenging day as he clears the roads in his Hyundai.
Earlier in the day, Dani Sordo, who is participating in his first rally since the Forum8 Rally Japan last year, achieved the fastest time in the shakedown stage.
The performance of the tires will be crucial over the course of the two days. On Friday, there will be two loops of 63.45km each, and the teams will have the opportunity to change tires after the first four stages. However, there will be no service available during the 126.9km of gravel stages.
Let the competition begin…