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Despite a difficult start, Rovanperä won three out of the eight special stages in his Toyota GR Yaris, building up a 10.7-second lead over Sordo after over 120km of action.
Kalle Rovanperä has emerged as the leader after a grueling opening leg at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, surpassing Hyundai Motorsport's Dani Sordo in the process.
The World Rally Championship's fifth round of the season was marked by challenging terrain and hot, dusty conditions, causing several drivers to falter.
Despite a difficult start, Rovanperä won three out of the eight special stages in his Toyota GR Yaris, building up a 10.7-second lead over Sordo after over 120km of action.
Rovanperä's understeer problems were solved by the team's adjustments, enabling him to overtake Sordo, who had inherited the top spot after Ott Tänak's Ford Puma suffered wheel damage. Sordo also overshot a junction, giving Rovanperä a comfortable advantage.
"It has been a really good day," Rovanperä said. "Lots of cleaning, but still, we did a steady day. We were fast but we also took care of the car and the tyres."
Sordo's Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville came in third, 15.2 seconds behind. In the Figueira da Foz super special, Neuville reclaimed the final podium spot, overtaking Esapekka Lappi and M-Sport Ford's Pierre-Louis Loubet.
The three drivers were separated by only 1.3 seconds at the end of the day, with Loubet finishing fourth, ahead of Lappi by just 0.3 seconds.
Loubet had an eventful day, winning the opener but experiencing a near-retirement when his car caught fire at the stop line of Arganil 1.
The flames were extinguished, and Loubet and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul traced the cause to the car's exhaust.
The remaining positions on the leaderboard were filled by WRC2 cars, with Oliver Solberg taking the lead, followed by Gus Greensmith, Yohan Rossel, and Andreas Mikkelsen.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans crashed his Toyota in Mortágua and was forced to retire, while his teammate Takamoto Katsuta bowed out earlier in the day due to alternator failure.
Solberg had an excellent day, leading WRC2 by over a minute after the opening leg, thanks to his avoidance of trouble on the rough gravel terrain. Solberg's lead was 50.2 seconds ahead of Greensmith's similar car.
"It's been a very good day, but also very difficult," Solberg said. "So rough with so many rocks and things going on. We've had a clean day - fast as well - but at least no problems."
Rossel faced some technical issues, which resulted in him receiving a 40-second time penalty for arriving late at SS7.
Despite also having to change a wheel, Mikkelsen finished fourth overall, followed by his Toksport teammate Marco Bulacia.
Hyundai's Teemu Suninen recovered to finish sixth in his i20 N Rally2, after suffering early wheel trouble.
If Friday was tough, Saturday is just as daunting. Almost 150km is packed into two loops of three speed tests. Crews have the respite of mid-leg service and a super special stage at Lousada rounds out the day’s action.
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