Belgian driver Thierry Neuville took full advantage of a puncture for overnight leader Sebastien Ogier to secure his second victory in a thrilling Vodafone Rally of Portugal on Sunday.
Trailing the nine-time World Champion by 17.3 seconds with just two gravel special stages to go, Neuville maintained his composure in demanding weather conditions to earn the Hyundai Shell Mobil WRT its first win of the season. A 23rd career win for the 2024 World Champion also earned his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe a 10th WRC success. It was the Belgian’s first WRC win since Rally Saudi Arabia last November.
Neuville said: “This is a very special one after what happened in Croatia, not only for me and Martijn but the whole team. I let them down in Croatia and I fight back and we never give up. We were up there and on a good rhythm all weekend and we got through and got that victory that we deserved earlier.”
On a revised four-day event, where the lead swapped and changed in changeable weather conditions and tricky and varied stage surfaces, seven drivers won at least one of the gravel stages.
Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson twice led the event outright in their Toyota GR Yaris and won four stages. Stopping to change a puncture and then losing time with a spin proved expensive for the young Monte-Carlo Rally winner and he had to settle for second place, just 16.3 seconds behind the winner. He also picked up valuable points for topping the times on Super Sunday.
Toyota team-mates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin spent two days opening the road as ‘punishment’ for leading the World Championship, but they handled the tricky situation superbly. Evans won the first stage on the final morning and, when Ogier and Sami Pajari both stopped to change flat tyres on the penultimate speed test, Evans climbed into a podium position he held to the finish.
Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria were the duo to beat on the first stage and the French crew led outright between stages four and seven before losing time after leaving the road and picking up a double puncture. Fourmaux hit back strongly, however, and fastest times on the last two stages – including the Wolf Power Stage – gave him fourth place and a useful haul of championship points.
Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston were unable to repeat the form that saw them claim back-to-back wins in Kenya and Croatia, but the Japanese secured points for fifth place.
Ogier was firmly on course for a record-breaking eighth victory in Portugal at the start of the penultimate stage. But it was not to be on this occasion. he and Vincent Landais picked up a puncture in a rough section of the special and were forced to change a wheel on the Toyota. That two-minute time loss undid all the weekend’s hard work and the nine-time World Champion and winner of seven stages had to settle for sixth place.
A flat tyre on SS22 also ruined Sami Pajari’s and Markko Salminen’s push for yet another podium finish. The Finns had been holding third before the 2min 50sec time loss pushed them down to an eventual seventh.
Dani Sordo’s return to the Hyundai team did not go as he had hoped and the veteran struggled with the stage conditions, the tyres and the car’s handling in the arduous conditions. He and co-driver Candido Carrera were never on the pace they had hoped for and finished down in eighth overall.
A returning Martins Sesks and Renars Francis spent a punishing Saturday opening the road for 10 special stages in the worst of the weather conditions. Punctures hindered their cause but they managed to finish ninth.
Ford team-mates Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy were deprived of an historic second career WRC stage win on the first pass through Fafe by Robert Virves in a WRC2 car, but the Irishman was able to put a couple of spins and a disappointing and much-publicised retirement in the mud at Lousada behind him with a strong final day, a last stage puncture rubbing salt into the wounds.
Teemu Suninen climbed to the front of the WRC2 category on Saturday afternoon. Even though he began the final day 0.9 seconds behind long-time leader Jan Solans after the muddy spectacle at Lousada. Suninen was in a class of his own on Sunday. The contest was settled in his favour when Solans left the road in his Skoda for over one and a half minutes on Sunday morning and Suninen was able to secure a vital WRC2 win with Janni Hussi in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Suninen said: “That feels really great. We have not been on the gravel for two years and it’s great to return here. It’s good for my career to show we still have the pace. Let’s hope it brings something good.”
Finland’s Roope Korhonen picked up points for second place in a second Toyota and Andreas Mikkelsen rounded off the podium places in a Skoda. Lancia’s Nikolay Gryazin was feeling under the weather on the final day and did finish second, although he was not registered for the Drivers’ Championship on this occasion.
A penultimate stage accident ruined Calle Carlberg’s weekend and cost him a potential Junior WRC win. The long-time leader’s retirement opened the door for Ali Türkkan to claim maximum points from Leevi Lassila after Gil Membrado dropped 17 minutes in SS22.
Italy’s Matteo Fontana finished ahead of Turkkan to earn the bragging rights in WRC3.
2026 Vodafone Rally of Portugal – positions after SS23:
1. Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3hr 53min 01.7sec
2. Oliver Solberg (SWE)/Elliott Edmondson (GBR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 53min 18.0sec
3. Elfyn Evans (GBR)/Scott Martin (GBR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 53min 30.8sec
4. Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Alexandre Coria (FRA) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3hr 53min 56.5sec
5. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 54min 14.3sec
6. Sebastien Ogier (FRA)/Vincent Landais (FRA) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 54min 28.3sec
7. Sami Pajari (FIN)/Marko Salminen (FIN) Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3hr 55min 52.6sec
8. Dani Sordo (ESP)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3hr 57min 11.7sec
9. Martins Sesks (LAT)/Renars Francis (LAT) Ford Puma Rally1 3hr 59min 50.9sec
10. Teemu Suninen (FIN)/Janni Hussi (FIN) Toyota GR Yaris (WRC2) 4hr 04min 15.5sec
Rally leaders
SS1 Adrien Fourmaux
SS2-3 Oliver Solberg
SS4-7 Adrien Fourmaux
SS8-13 Sebastien Ogier
SS14 Oliver Solberg
SS15-21 Sebastien Ogier
SS22-23 Thierry Neuville
Stage winners
SS1 Adrien Fourmaux
SS2 Oliver Solberg
SS3 Sebastien Ogier/Elfyn Evans
SS4 Sami Pajari
SS5 Sami Pajari
SS6 Thierry Neuville
SS7 Sebastien Ogier
SS8 Sebastien Ogier
SS9 Sebastien Ogier
SS10 Thierry Neuville
SS11 Sami Pajari
SS12 Adrien Fourmaux
SS13 Oliver Solberg
SS14 Oliver Solberg
SS15 Sebastien Ogier
SS16 Adrien Fourmaux
SS17 Sebastien Ogier
SS18 Sebastien Ogier
SS19 Oliver Solberg
SS20 Elfyn Evans
SS21 Robert Virves
SS22 Adrien Fourmaux
SS23 Adrien Fourmaux
