WRC Rally Portugal

Saturday

Crews arrived at Saturday’s stages expecting persistent rain, but the forecast conditions failed to materialise until late in the morning. As a result, many competitors found themselves running compromised setups for much of the opening loop.  Overnight leader Sébastien Ogier immediately came under pressure from Thierry Neuville, with the Hyundai driver trimming the Frenchman’s advantage by two seconds on the opening stage to reduce the overall lead to just 1.7 seconds. Third placed Sami Pajari also strengthened his challenge by winning Felgueiras 1, moving to within 10.7 seconds of the lead.  Ogier responded on stage 12, Cabeceiras de Basto. Despite heavily rutted conditions in the final sector that punished the later runners, the nine-time world champion limited his deficit to stage winner Adrien Fourmaux to just 0.5 of a second while extending his overall lead back to 5.0 seconds.

Light rain began to fall during the first pass through the demanding 26.24 km Amarante stage, although conditions remained manageable for the leading contenders. Oliver Solberg claimed the fastest time, but teammate Ogier conceded only half a second while Neuville slipped a further 3.1 seconds behind, leaving the Hyundai driver 8.1 seconds adrift overall.  The leaderboard changed dramatically on the final stage before midday service as worsening rain transformed conditions. Solberg produced one of the standout drives of the event, attacking the increasingly treacherous stage to win by 7.2 seconds from Elfyn Evans. Ogier, by contrast, lost 19.1 seconds and surrendered the rally lead.  Having started the stage 18.6 seconds behind Ogier, Solberg emerged from the test with a slender 0.5 of a second advantage at the head of the leaderboard. Neuville dropped to third, 2.6 seconds behind the new leader, while Pajari slipped to fourth, 8.1 seconds from the front.

Further back, Evans remained locked in a close battle for fifth with Fourmaux. The Hyundai driver, recovering from Friday’s puncture drama, reduced the gap after winning stage 12, but Evans responded effectively to preserve a margin of 11.7 seconds heading into service.  Takamoto Katsuta held seventh after struggling to gain ground on Fourmaux. Dani Sordo continued to endure a frustrating event, lacking confidence in his Hyundai i20 as he battled persistent sliding and poor grip on soft tyres.  Josh McErlean remained the leading M-Sport driver in ninth overall, while Jon Armstrong recovered strongly after Friday’s power steering issues. Armstrong delivered an impressive performance in the wet final morning stage, briefly threatening a maiden stage victory before Evans and Solberg completed the test.

Solberg’s spell at the front proved short lived once the afternoon loop began. Ogier responded immediately after midday service, admitting he needed to increase his commitment following Solberg’s earlier charge. The Toyota driver reclaimed the rally lead with a narrow stage win, edging Pajari by 0.1 of a second while Solberg dropped 4.5 seconds.  The Swede’s challenge unravelled further on stage 16 when a front right puncture, likely caused by exposed bedrock, cost him 18.8 seconds and dropped him from second to fifth overall. The setback elevated Ogier into a 3.9 second lead over Neuville, with Pajari moving into third and Evans climbing to fourth.

Heavy rain then transformed the second pass through Amarante into one of the toughest stages of the rally. Ogier delivered a commanding drive in the treacherous mud and standing water, beating the field by 11.2 seconds to extend his lead over Neuville to 16.0 seconds. Solberg again excelled in the wet and climbed back ahead of Evans after the Welshman briefly stopped following a mistake.  Ogier underlined his mastery of the conditions once more on stage 18, which featured sections resembling Safari Rally Kenya due to the volume of standing water. Having lost heavily to Solberg on the morning pass, Ogier reversed the situation, confidently beating Evans by 3.7 seconds and stretching his lead to 20.2 seconds over Neuville.  The Frenchman added another 1.7 seconds to his advantage in the rain-soaked Lousada super special, ending Saturday with a commanding 21.9 second lead over Neuville. Pajari held third overall, 3.9 seconds further back.

Solberg retained fourth despite frustration over a spin in stage 18 that cost valuable time, while Evans completed the day fifth ahead of Fourmaux, who collected two stage wins on Saturday but could not overhaul the championship leader. Katsuta remained isolated in seventh, although improved pace in the wet reduced his deficit to Fourmaux to 11.5 seconds heading into Sunday.  Sordo’s difficult weekend continued as the Spaniard struggled to make progress and finished the day eighth overall, more than three minutes adrift. Sesks climbed to ninth for M-Sport after impressing with the second-fastest time on stage 17, while McErlean endured a difficult afternoon that included an off-road excursion, a spin and eventual contact with the barriers in the muddy Lousada super special.

M-Sport’s rally suffered a major blow on stage 15 when Armstrong became the first Rally1 retirement of the event, clipping a bank only 600 metres into the stage, pitching his Ford Puma into a roll. Both Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne escaped unharmed.  By the close of Saturday’s gruelling 145 km leg, Ogier had once again demonstrated his wet-weather expertise, turning a slender overnight lead into a significant advantage through a series of commanding performances in worsening conditions.