Victory for Sébastien Ogier at the 2025 Vodafone Rally de Portugal – the French driver’s seventh win at the event and the 63rd of his career in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). A success that also allowed Toyota to maintain its unbeaten streak this season. After leading for about two-thirds of the rally, the unlucky Ott Tänak (Hyundai) finished second, still earning credit for being the driver with the most stage wins. The podium was completed by Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) in third. Armindo Araújo (Škoda) was, for the 14th time, the top Portuguese driver. Organised by the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), this edition was once again marked by competitiveness and massive crowds – over one million spectators across the Central and Northern regions of the country.
With eight world titles and 63 WRC wins, Ogier is undoubtedly a legend of global motorsport, but neither his success nor age seem to affect his motivation or speed. Fifteen years after his first WRC win, which also came in Portugal, the 41-year-old Frenchman (born December 17, 1983) claimed his 63rd career win and seventh Portuguese victory. In other words, over a decade and a half, he’s won almost half the editions he entered – and this year once again by one of the smallest margins in history: 8.7 seconds. “I think it's something I can be really proud of, staying competitive after all these years. The car was great all weekend. We showed once again that race management is definitely a craft we have. I'm happy… winning seven times in Portugal is not bad at all. The crowd pushed me since the recce. It was a tough fight with Ott, and not fair with the issue he had,” Ogier admitted.
Just 8.7 seconds behind, Ott Tänak finished second – the driver with the most stage wins (12) but also the most unlucky in this year’s edition. The Estonian led from stage two through stage 16, until power steering failure in his Hyundai cost him precious seconds. A misfortune that denied him a WRC win – his last dating back to 2022 – and also Hyundai a chance to break Toyota’s winning streak. “Today (Saturday), we were always on the limit. After yesterday’s disappointment, I was either going to bring home second place or the steering wheel in my hand! At least the performance gives us good prospects for the future,” he said.
With just two stage wins, reigning World Champion Kalle Rovanperä was classified third. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver admitted the result “wasn’t a surprise. It was a long and difficult weekend for us. We couldn’t find rhythm. We were really missing speed. There was no grip, no pace. We have to keep working on it.”
Reigning champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) finished fourth, never quite in contention for the win: “It wasn’t fun. I was always fighting the car. I’m happy to finish, but disappointed for the team. We deserved more. We’ll keep fighting.”
Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) completed the top five, followed by teammate and current WRC leader Elfyn Evans. “It wasn’t an easy weekend. Friday was tough, and we made it harder for ourselves after that. We’re disappointed with the result and have to be better in Sardinia,” said the Welshman.
Young Sami Pajari (Toyota) came seventh, ahead of the M-Sport Ford pair Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster.
Seventh WRC2 win for Oliver Solberg
Swede Oliver Solberg secured his debut win in the WRC2 category at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, Solberg led the event from the start and finished 51.8 seconds ahead of Yohan Rossel. He set a blistering pace on the opening leg, building a gap that allowed him to manage his pace through to the end and secure his second category win of the year – repeating his Swedish triumph. “On Friday, I gave it everything. It was a long weekend, the feeling was great, and the team gave me a perfect car. The fans here are incredible – I’ve never seen so many people on the stages,” said Solberg.
The final leg featured a close battle for second between Gus Greensmith (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) and Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3 Rally2). The Frenchman moved into second place on the Felgueiras stage, won the next two, and held onto the position with a 16.4-second advantage over Gus. “It was impossible to beat Solberg. We took the opportunity to test the Hankook tyres on the Citroën C3 – useful preparation for the Sardinia Rally,” said Rossel, who maintains the WRC2 lead.
Australian wins FIA Junior WRC
Australia’s Taylor Gill held off late pressure from Swede Mille Johansson in the final leg to claim his second win in the FIA Junior WRC category. Turk Kerem Kazaz finished third. Gill also took the win in the WRC3 category.
Armindo Araújo the best Portuguese for the 14th time
Only four Portuguese drivers completed the Rally de Portugal. Armindo Araújo (Škoda) was the best national finisher in 26th overall. “I’m extremely proud to finish the Rally de Portugal as the best Portuguese driver for the 14th time and once again stand on the podium of what I consider the best rally in the world. It was a very demanding four days, but we kept a steady pace that allowed us to manage the event without any mechanical issues. Only a puncture on Friday stopped us from also taking the CPR win, but we’re very satisfied with the outcome,” said the driver from Santo Tirso.
Pedro Meireles finished 28th and won the Masters Cup, a competition for drivers over 50 years old. Diogo Salvi (Ford) was 29th and third-best Portuguese. “What a party – I loved it! I was very slow, but it was fantastic. Thank you to Axel (co-driver), who not only did a magnificent job but had the patience of a saint with me. Thanks also to the entire M-Sport team for a tremendous effort! Last but not least, my family – always complaining while waiting for me – and especially the love of my life for taking care of the kids. She hates rallies, but tonight she’ll have a romantic dinner with champagne,” said the IT entrepreneur who fulfilled his dream of driving a Rally1 car in Portugal.
Diogo Marújo (Škoda) was the fourth-best Portuguese driver, finishing 33rd.
Final Classification
1st Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), 3:48:35.9
2nd Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20N Rally1), +8.7s
3rd Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), +12.2s
4th Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20N Rally1), +38.5s
5th Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), +1:41.9
6th Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), +2:31.0
7th Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), +2:38.3
8th Joshua McErlean / Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1), +5:12.3
9th Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1), +5:57.5
10th Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), +9:15.1 (1st Rally2)
26th Armindo Araújo / Luís Ramalho (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), +22:42.2 (Top Portuguese)
Drivers' Championship
Elfyn Evans – 118 pts
Kalle Rovanperä – 88
Sébastien Ogier – 86
Ott Tänak – 84
Thierry Neuville – 78
Takamoto Katsuta – 51
Adrien Fourmaux – 44
Sami Pajari – 25
Grégoire Munster – 18
Joshua McErlean – 12
Manufacturers' Championship
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – 258 pts
Hyundai World Rally Team – 203
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team – 72
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 – 36
WRC2 Standings
1st Yohan Rossel – 67 pts
2nd Oliver Solberg – 60
3rd Gus Greensmith – 40