We came then to the final day of this amazing rally and with almost 67 kilometres over four stages to run, what would they hold for the crews? Josh and Eoin would return to the action and open the road throughout the stages after the M-Sport Ford team completed rebuilding the Puma at around three o’clock. It was an amazing feat from the team.

First up was SS20 Vieira do Minho 1 and the rain which was expected had arrived making the stage super tricky. Elfyn would set the pace from Oliver and Thierry whilst rally leader Seb was fifth. The Frenchman saw his lead trimmed to just over fourteen seconds. It was a good start to the day from Elfyn who led the super Sunday standings from Oliver.

The first run of SS21 Fafe 1 saw the rain move through the stage changing the road surface. Josh set the pace from Martins for the Rally1 crews. However incredibly the later Rally2 crews came through with better road conditions and the Irishman’s time was beaten by Robert Virves by almost nine seconds in his Skoda Fabia. Interestingly Seb added a few seconds to his lead over Thierry as they set the sixth and twelfth fastest time respectively. Meanwhile, Elfyn continued to lead the super Sunday standings from Oliver.

Then it was back to SS22 Vieira do Minho 2 and there was more rain coming through the stage as the crews came through. Adrien was fastest of the crews from Takamoto and Oliver. Elfyn was fifth fastest and almost eighteen seconds slower than Adrien, but only around eight seconds slower than Oliver. This did mean that Oliver moved to the head of the super Sunday standings. There was drama for two of the Toyota crews though as both Seb and Sami suffered punctures and as it was early in the stage they both stopped to change the wheel over. This all meant that they dropped positions in the overall standings. Seb emerged in sixth place whilst Sami was seventh. The Frenchman’s hope for an eighth victory was gone.

We came then to the final stage, SS23 Fafe 2, the powerstage and again the rain was coming and going in the area as the crews made their way through. Adrien was set the pace from Thierry and Elfyn whilst Oliver was fourth and Seb fifth fastest. Thierry and Martijn took victory for Hyundai, their first of the year, whilst Oliver and Elliott were second and Elfyn and Scott were third.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the final finishing positions.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“What a weekend! It has been crazy out there, and we have faced all kinds of conditions and emotions, but we have been consistent, fighting with the fastest on every stage, never really losing a lot of time. I think that is what gave us the final victory, as well as making no mistakes. We know the rally is never over until it’s over; the stress was very high on the last stage, but we made it. This win feels very special; as a team, we have been chasing this result for a while, and haven’t been rewarded, and I let the team down in Croatia. We needed to fight back, and the rally gods were with us this weekend. I’m very happy to bring home the first victory of the year for the team.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“It has been a very positive weekend for the team here in Portugal, so we can be pleased to score 20 points as a crew and that Thierry and Martijn have taken the win. It’s a great result for the whole team, and with all the preparation we have done recently, I am pleased we are now enjoying some nice success. I’d like to say thank you to the team, and also thank you to the fans. It has been fantastic to see you all out in force even in the rain. Overall, it’s been a very challenging rally – but I think that’s why we love it.”

Dani Sordo

“I have to admit we are not very happy with our performance here in Portugal. It was a difficult rally with the weather, which made the conditions very slippery, and I didn’t feel good in the car. However, I am delighted for the team – everyone really deserves this victory, especially after what happened in Croatia, so very happy for this.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Oliver Solberg

“Firstly, I’m sorry to our team-mates who had been in front of us until the bad luck they had today. I think we all had our challenges this weekend. It’s been a tough event and a bit of a rollercoaster; we were up and down all weekend. After two tough rallies for me, and even if this one hasn’t been easy either, I’m very happy at least to finally be back on the podium with some good points. It’s a big relief. Thank you to the team for believing in me and our mechanics for always fixing the car.”

Elfyn Evans

“This has been a long event with very tough conditions and a lot of ups and downs. There were some moments where we had good pace, and others where I wasn’t so proud of my driving. I think there was potential for more, but we didn’t quite get it right. Our team-mates Seb and Sami have been unlucky today and I feel for them. I never want to gain positions that way, but it’s part of the sport sometimes. We’ll take the points and aim for more in Japan.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“This was a difficult weekend for us. We took a bit of a risk with the car setup at the beginning of the rally to help with my road position, and it didn’t really work out. Together with the team were able to make improvements and the feeling got much better during the weekend, but it was difficult to catch up to those ahead of us. In the end, with the bad luck our team-mates had today, we could score some decent points. Now I’m really looking forward to my home event, Rally Japan.”

Sébastien Ogier

“We had some tough luck today. In the beginning of this penultimate stage, it was very rutted and there were some rocks in the line; I don’t think we could have done much differently. Everything that we could control this weekend, I think we did it pretty well, together with the team. I think we all deserved better, but that’s rallying sometimes. Of course, when you put in so much effort it’s frustrating, but we have to forget about it and go to Japan and look to get another win there.”

Sami Pajari

“It’s disappointing what happened today, as everything had been going really well until then. From what I could see, there was a huge loose stone in the line, and we hit it and got a puncture. There was nothing much I could do. Otherwise, though it has been a good event for us. The performance was really strong, one of the best we’ve had so far. It’s always a pity when the reward doesn’t come our way, but we just need to take the many positives from this weekend and be even stronger on the next rallies.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Mārtiņš Sesks

“Looking back at the weekend, there are a lot of positives we can take from this rally. We showed consistent performance throughout the whole weekend, having some top three times each day, which demonstrates that we have a good base. Now it’s up to taking the knowledge from here and trying to put it into our next rally in Greece.”

Josh McErlean

“Rally Portugal is done and dusted. It’s been quite competitive this weekend with plenty of ups and downs. We nearly secured the stage win today in Fafe, which was special, but we were just edged out at the very last minute. We faced some issues along the way, and unfortunately hit the wall in Lousasa on Saturday night, probably the worst wall you could hit in rallying! I want to give big thanks to the whole team for their tremendous effort to get us back out today. They were up quite late last night, so thanks to all the lads and ladies for that. Japan is next, and we’re looking forward to it and getting back on Tarmac, before the summer gravel rallies.”

Jon Armstrong

“It’s disappointing to retire while we were fighting our way back into the points after the mechanical issues on Friday. The margins are fine at this level, and unfortunately this time it didn’t go our way. Portugal is a great event, but it hasn’t been my luckiest yet. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming rallies and coming back stronger.”

Mille Johansson

“We showed some really good pace in the dry conditions, but the rain made it very difficult to find a rhythm and build confidence. I think we exceeded our expectations for this rally, particularly in the dry, and I’m happy with that. There are still a few things we need to work on, but overall, it’s been a very positive rally for us.”

Romet Jürgenson

“We experienced an impact from a rock early on that broke the steering rack, leaving us without power steering. The wisest option was to retire to fix it for the next day, as there was no service available on days one and two.

“On Friday, I was able to demonstrate decent speed through the stages. Saturday was challenging with torrential rain affecting our road position, making it difficult to commit fully without risk. Sunday’s weather was more favourable, allowing us to achieve some good stage times.

“Overall, there’s still work to do in my driving, particularly on the sandy stages, to extract the best performance from the vehicle. Despite the challenges, this event was an improvement compared to last year. We’re now focused on moving forward to our next competition in Japan.”

Rally de Portugal Final Classification

Super Sunday Classification – Rally de Portugal

Summary

Well, what a rally we had and what a drive from Thierry and Martijn. They were there to benefit when Seb and Vincent had their puncture in the penultimate stage. The French crew in the Yaris on balance probably deserved victory but this is the way of rally and punctures are all part of the challenge.

Oliver and Elliott took a strong second position and also took the maximum points for super Sunday. This has given them a good boost of points in the championship, and they hold third in the championship.

Finally, Elfyn and Scott once again showed what a great partnership they have, taking third overall and good points as well to extend their championship lead over Takamoto and Aaron. It’s been a positive first half of the season for them and they’ll open the road next time in Japan.

2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 6

2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6

Next up is Rally Japan which moves from November to May taking place over the weekend of 28 to 31 May.

Onto Saturday’s stages then which included the longest stage of the rally and the crews had seven stages over 146 kilometres ahead of them. Martins and Renars would open the road throughout the day. There was also the promise of rain at some point, but it was hard to predict when and where it would fall.

First up then was SS11 Felgueiras 1 and this stage was dry throughout. Sami would set the pace from Thierry and Elfyn, whilst Seb who held the overall lead was four and a half seconds back with the fourth fastest time. This meant that his lead over Thierry was reduced to just 1.7 seconds. Interestingly the Belgian had a stall in the stage meaning that he might have taken the lead without this problem.

Onwards then to SS12 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 and we had two Frenchman setting the pace with Adrien edging out Seb by half a second, whilst Takamoto was a further two seconds back with the third fastest time. Adrien had the best of the conditions, particularly near the end of the stage as it was clear that in this last section the road was getting really rough. There was no rain in this stage.

Next came SS13 Amarante 1, the longest stage of the day and again it remained dry for most. Oliver would set the pace from Seb and Elfyn and amazing less than one second covered the three of them. There were no position changes in this one and Seb’s lead actually grew over Thierry to just over eight seconds and this was due to the rain arriving during the Belgian’s run, yet Elfyn didn’t have any rain.

The final morning stage, SS14 Paredes 1 and the rain really arrived for everyone in this stage. It was hard for the crews to judge where the grip was. Incredibly Oliver was fastest from Elfyn and Jon who’d set the early pace only to see it beaten. It was a good drive from all three of them. The Swedes pace saw him leap from fourth overall into the rally lead by just half a second over Seb whilst Thierry remained close, just five and a half seconds further back. Unfortunately, we lost Jon and Shane in this one as they hit a bank on the left-hand side of the car and the car rolled. Both of them were okay, but they were out for the rest of the day.

After the service break came SS15 Felgueiras 2 and there was another lead change as Seb set the pace by just one tenth of a second from Sami with Elfyn a further almost three seconds back. Oliver set the seventh best time and fell to second overall, now four seconds from Seb.

Into SS16 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 and Adrien set the pace from Sami and Thierry. Oliver had a tyre off the rim on the front right-hand side near the end of the stage, ultimately holding him back to the eighth best time and fell to fifth overall. Seb continued to lead but after being fifth fastest would see some of his lead trimmed over Thierry to just under four seconds. The rain really arrived earlier in the day and changed the road surface quite a bit.

Next came SS17 Amarante 2 and every crew had some rain in this one as well as no rain. Martins time stayed unbeaten until the last Rally1 car came through, that being piloted by Seb. The Frenchman set the fastest time by over eleven seconds from the Latvian whilst Oliver was third. This was enough to allow the Swede to re-pass Elfyn for fourth place the gap almost twenty seconds between the teammates.

Onto the final proper stage of the day then, SS18 Paredes 2 and Seb again set the pace from Elfyn by almost four seconds, whilst Thierry was third. The Frenchman now had a lead of over twenty seconds from Thierry and Sami remained in third a further five seconds back. Oliver lost a lot of time and was almost passed by Elfyn, the gap at the end just half a second between them.

The final stage of the day then, SS19 SSS Lousada and Oliver was fastest from Seb and Sami. The short stage around the track was not without drama as very heavy rain turned the stage into a really tricky thing to navigate. The first two crews to start, Josh and Martins would see the young Irishman slip up on some very slippery mud and saw the Puma hit the stage side very heavily breaking the suspension on the left-hand side.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the top ten.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s been a good day for us overall. The morning had been good until this last stage, where I didn’t take enough risk and we lost a lot of time. In midday service we switched to more of a rain setup and this worked much better for the afternoon. Coming to Amarante with crazy conditions, it was so close behind that I knew I had to drive well and take some risks. We’ve got a bit of a gap now but not enough to feel comfortable, because tomorrow the weather can still be tricky, and we’ll have to keep pushing.”

Sami Pajari

“Today started really well with a stage win, and the morning generally was quite nice with fairly steady conditions. Then this afternoon the conditions were much more intense with a lot of rain and super slippery stages. Still, we managed to stay out of trouble and have consistent speed. I think we can be really happy to finish a day like this cleanly and in third place, and to even be a little bit closer to second, and tomorrow we’ll try to catch Thierry.”

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been a very tricky day. This morning was great, going from fourth to the lead, and then in the afternoon we went back from first to fourth again. It was disappointing to get the puncture in the second stage this afternoon and after that it was tough, with a half spin in a very narrow place where we had to reverse. There’s still a long day to come tomorrow and the weather can be tricky again, and we’ll keep trying until the end to take as many points as possible.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today was overall better than yesterday for me but the conditions have been totally different. Still, I was much happier with the feeling in the car and the times were much better. I just tried to be clever, and tried to find something more that can work even better for me for tomorrow. It was a bit like Kenya in places with the mud and the standing water, but we made it through quite cleanly. Tomorrow the conditions could be just as tricky, but I’ll try to catch Fourmaux if I can.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Another tough day for us – the conditions were very rough, with a lot of rain on the last two stages, but we made it back to service. I’m pretty satisfied with my driving today and the speed we were able to go. It seems the Toyotas are a little faster still, but we are still in the middle of the fight, and as long as we can stay there, we are in a good position. Generally, I was missing a bit of traction in the wet, but the performance is good, and we kept Pajari behind. We need to make the best out of Sunday and defend our second place, which is what I intend to do.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“The conditions this afternoon were incredible with the rain it was very muddy and tricky with the grip – sometimes you had it, and sometimes you didn’t, and it would have been very easy to make a mistake. It was certainly not easy to manage. However, we are here at the end of the day, and that is the main thing. Our plan for tomorrow is to try and get the maximum points; the only other thing we can do is see if something happens to the cars in front of us.”

Dani Sordo

“It has been a really challenging day; the rain made conditions tricky and difficult. I tried my best, but I was struggling to find grip with the soft tyres. We were sliding around everywhere, and now we are in the middle of nowhere in the classification. The positive thing is that we are safely here at the end of the day, but we wanted to perform better this weekend. We will try our best to finish in a good way tomorrow.”

Classification after Day Three

Sunday

The final full day will see the crews face four stages over almost sixty-six kilometres and there is more rain predicted as well. Let’s wait and see what happens! The M-Sport squad confirmed that Jon and Shane would not return to the action due to the damage sustained in their crash.