TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team’s Sébastien Ogier has secured a second successive win with his record-breaking sixth victory at the Rally de Portugal.
Just like in the previous round on the asphalt roads of Croatia, Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais triumphed after a thrilling and close battle on Portugal’s gravel stages. Just one second from the lead at the end of Friday, Ogier took over at the front on Saturday morning as others hit trouble and used all his experience to get through the longest day of the rally with an advantage of 11.9 seconds.
He increased his margin with a storming stage win in a foggy first test on Sunday morning, allowing him to apply more caution in the following tests and ultimately take victory by 7.9s.
Ogier now has more WRC victories in Portugal than any other driver, having matched Finnish legend Markku Alén’s tally of five wins back in 2017. TGR-WRT meanwhile has now won the last five editions of the event with four different drivers, bringing Toyota level with Lancia and Citroën on eight victories each across the history of the rally.
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin finished sixth overall, securing some important points after a difficult start to the rally on Friday. They faced a further challenge on Sunday after damage to the cooling package in the penultimate stage but made repairs on the road section to ensure they reached the finish. They remain second in the championship, 24 points from the leaders.
Kalle Rovanperä led after Friday but went off the road on Saturday’s second stage. He and Jonne Halttunen restarted on Sunday and took third in the Power Stage, helping to bank some extra points for the team.
Takamoto Katsuta was also among those fighting for the lead early on before he too stopped on Saturday morning after picking up damage. He and Aaron Johnston rejoined the action on Sunday and were fifth in the Super Sunday and Power Stage classifications.
The manufacturers’ standings remain close after five rounds, with TGR-WRT now four points from the lead.
TGR is celebrating a double victory in Portugal after the first WRC2 win for the new GR Yaris Rally2 car on its gravel debut at this level. Jan Solans and co-driver Rodrigo Sanjuan (Teo Martín Motorsport) climbed the order in the highly competitive category on Saturday and clinched first place by just 3.2s at the finish.
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY DE PORTUGAL
| 1. Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) | 3h41m32.3s |
| 2. Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) | +7.9s |
| 3. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) | +1m09.8s |
| 4. Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) | +1m47.8s |
| 5. Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) | +2m48.9s |
| 6. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) | +6m36.0s |
| 7. Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroën C3 Rally2) | +11m48.4s |
| 8. Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) | +11m52.9s |
| 9. Josh McErlean/James Fulton (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) | +11m56.1s |
| 10. Lauri Joona/Janni Hussi (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) | +13m40.3s |
| 11. Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) | +1h10m33.8s |
| 12. Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) | +1h20m54.4s |
(Results as of 16:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 5:
| 1. Thierry Neuville | 110 points |
| 2. Elfyn Evans | 86 |
| 3. Ott Tänak | 79 |
| 4. Adrien Fourmaux | 71 |
| 5. Sébastien Ogier | 70 |
| 6. Takamoto Katsuta | 49 |
| 7. Kalle Rovanperä | 36 |
| 8. Esapekka Lappi | 23 |
| 9. Andreas Mikkelsen | 14 |
| 10. Oliver Solberg | 12 |
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 5:
| 1. Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | 219 points |
| 2. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team | 215 |
| 3. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | 96 |
What’s next?
Rally Italia Sardegna (May 31-Jun 2) features fast but narrow gravel stages, where exposed rocks as well as trees at the side of the road can catch out the unwary. High temperatures combined with the abrasive surface places high stresses on the cars and tyres.
