Sébastien Ogier called upon all his vast experience to edge into a useful lead in demanding weather conditions at the 59th Vodafone Rally of Portugal on Saturday.
Stunned by a sensational stage time set by Oliver Solberg on the first pass through the Paredes stage before the midday service and regroup in Matosinhos, Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais responded in superb fashion during an afternoon where heavy rain showers made the surface of several stages especially demanding. The Toyota GR Yaris driver won three of the afternoon’s five speed tests to take a lead of 21.9 seconds into the night halt.
Ogier said: “When I needed to respond... It was a disastrous stage this morning but, with this rain many things can still happen. If you hit a shower at the wrong time you can lose a lot. We made a lot of changes this afternoon with the set-up in the rain. It worked well.”
Former World Champions, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, were the French duo’s closest pursuers in the first of the three factory Hyundais. The Belgian managed to squeeze as much as he could from the i20 N and was able to keep the hard-charging Toyota duo of Sami Pajari and Markko Salminen at bay over the closing stages to maintain second place.
Rain changed the course of the event from the start of the 14th stage at Paredes. Ogier had looked comfortable managing his advantage over Neuville through the opening three speeds tests of the morning, but he hadn’t accounted for Solberg’s ability to deliver a stunning stage performance.
If passing Pajari to secure third wasn’t enough, the Swede’s pace was such that he displaced Neuville and grabbed a half-second advantage over Ogier to lead. It had been the stage performance of the season by the young Toyota driver. Unfortunately, a puncture and a spin delayed the Swede in the afternoon. But he and Elliott Edmondson managed to fend off the WRC-leading duo of Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin to conserve fourth overall, setting the fastest time in the mud at Lousada to round off the day.
Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria won stage 16 but didn’t have the consistency to challenge Evans for fifth place in the second of the Hyundais. The French crew returned to the night halt safely in sixth place, 11.5 seconds ahead of Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston.
Dani Sordo and his co-driver Candido Carrera had not been on their usual pace all weekend. A lack of confidence with the car and tyres cost them time and then a broken drive shaft on the last stage of the morning was another kick in the teeth for the Spanish veteran. The Spaniard held a distant eighth.
Märtinš Sesks and Renars Francis spent the day opening the road in the first of the Fords and stayed clear of major trouble to finish in ninth overall.
The Irish duo of Joshua McErlean and Jon Armstrong had mixed fortunes in the other two M-Sport Ford Pumas. Armstrong was particularly impressive when it began to rain in Parades and he clocked the third fastest time, but it went wrong 600 metres into the second pass through Felgueiras: Jon ran sideways into the inside banking and the impact flipped the Puma over and it came to rest off the track with extensive damage.
McErlean survived two spins in the treacherously slippery conditions on the second pass through Amarante and was heading for 10th overall until he slithered helplessly on full lock through the mud and into a concrete wall at Lousada and retired.
Teemu Suninen climbed to the front of the WRC2 field and became the man to beat. The Toyota man traded times with Jan Solans (Škoda Fabia RS) throughout a difficult afternoon but he lost the lead to the Spaniard on the penultimate stage at Paredes. A quicker time that his rival on the treacherous mud at Lousada saw the Finn regain a miniscule overnight lead of 0.9 seconds.
Nikolay Gryazin was not registered for the Drivers’ Championship and intercom issues plagued his progress throughout the morning. Nevertheless, the Lancia driver reached Exponor in third place. His team-mate and series leader Yohan Rossel was not so fortunate: a slow-speed spin into a wall in Amarante 2 sidelined the Ypsilon HF with a broken front wheel. Finland’s Roope Korhonen held fourth, ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen.
Sweden’s Calle Carlberg became embroiled in a duel with Ali Türkkan for Junior WRC honours until the Turk lost time late on, slipped to third and Gil Membrado became the closest challenger. Carlberg and Membrado were separated by 41.1 seconds heading to Lousada. The Spaniard was the front-runner in WRC3 from Türkkan and Italy’s Matteo Fontana.
What to expect on Sunday
Only two stages, repeated twice, are planned for Sunday, but the threat of even heavier rain showers makes the conclusion to the event absolutely fascinating.
Action gets underway with the first of two passes through Vieira do Minho in Braga County and a first pass through the legendary Fafe stage, featuring the iconic Pedra Sentada jump into the flying finish. Vieira do Minho is repeated mid-morning before competitors regroup and refuel in Fafe in preparation for the Wolf Power Stage finale and the second pass through Fafe.
2026 Vodafone Rally of Portugal – positions after SS19:
1. Sébastien Ogier (FRA)/Vincent Landais (FRA) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 09min 13.3sec
2. Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3hr 09min 35.2sec
3. Sami Pajari (FIN)/Marko Salminen (FIN) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 09min 39.1sec
4. Oliver Solberg (SWE)/Elliott Edmondson (GBR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 10min 02.9sec
5. Elfyn Evans (GBR)/Scott Martin (GBR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 10min 11.5sec
6. Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Alexandre Coria (FRA) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3hr 10min 37.1sec
7. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 10min 48.6sec
8. Dani Sordo (ESP)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3hr 12min 58.0sec
9. Märtinš Sesks (LAT)/Renars Francis (LAT) Ford Puma Rally1 3hr 16min 01.0sec
10. Teemu Suninen (FIN)/Janni Hussi (FIN) Toyota GR Yaris (WRC2) 3hr 18min 31.1sec
11. Jan Solans (ESP)/Rodrigo Sanjuan (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS (WRC2) 3hr 18min 32.0sec
Rally leaders
SS1 Adrien Fourmaux
SS2-3 Oliver Solberg
SS4-7 Adrien Fourmaux
SS8-13 Sébastien Ogier
SS14 Oliver Solberg
SS15-19 Sébastien Ogier
Stage winners
SS1 Adrien Fourmaux
SS2 Oliver Solberg
SS3 Sébastien Ogier/Elfyn Evans
SS4 Sami Pajari
SS5 Sami Pajari
SS6 Thierry Neuville
SS7 Sébastien Ogier
SS8 Sébastien Ogier
SS9 Sébastien Ogier
SS10 Thierry Neuville
SS11 Sami Pajari
SS12 Adrien Fourmaux
SS13 Oliver Solberg
SS14 Oliver Solberg
SS15 Sébastien Ogier
SS16 Adrien Fourmaux
SS17 Sébastien Ogier
SS18 Sébastien Ogier
SS19 Oliver Solberg