In the meantime the World Cup leader Vasiliev had a more difficult day. The Russian lost 30 seconds to the Qatari after having damaged the rear left wheel of his Mini All4 Racing, and finished the day 20th overall.
Much more levelled was the duel between the drivers battling for the 2014 National Championship. Barbosa (Mitsubishi Racing Lancer) was six seconds faster then Ricardo Porém (Mini All4 Racing), but since winning the event is mandatory for both to ensure the crown, tomorrow should be a very exciting day for drivers and fans alike.
Fourth was the Brazilian Reinaldo Varela. The Toyota Hilux driver lost 6.8s to the leader Al-Attiyah, while Russian Boris Gadasin was fifth. João Ramos (Toyota Hilux), Marek Dabrowski (Toyota Hilux Overdrive), Rómulo Branco (Toyota Hilux), Nuno Matos (Opel Mokka Proto) and Filipe Campos (Mini All4 Racing) completed the top 10.
On the T2, Portuguese Alexandre Franco was the fastest. The Portuguese driver was followed by Eduardo Mota and Russian Andrey Rudskoy. Meanwhile, Hélder Oliveira was the best amongst those taking part exclusively on the National Event, followed by Lino Carapeta and Luís Dias.
Nasser Al-Attiyah will be starting first tomorrow
According to the FIA regulations, the top 10 drivers elected their starting positions for Leg 2, and today’s winner, Al-Attiyah, has opted to be the first on track. Behind him will be starting Ricardo Porém, Miguel Barbosa, Reinaldo Varela, Boris Gadasin, João Ramos, Marek Dabrowski, Rómulo Branco, Filipe Campos and Nuno Matos.
Tomorrow drivers will face almost 400 km over two special stages. The drivers will depart from Parc Fermé at 08h50, while the start of SS2 is at 09h15.