Ogier shrugs off rain and Solberg charge to close in on WRC Rally Portugal win

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier will take a 21.9s lead over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville into the final day of Rally Portugal after a fast, but clean run through a chaotic, rain-hit Saturday.

The nine-time and reigning FIA World Rally champion (above) briefly lost the lead to his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Oliver Solberg on the morning’s first pass of the 10.0-mile Paredes test, but responded in style as conditions deteriorated through a brutal afternoon loop.

Ogier reclaimed top spot in his GR Yaris Rally1 immediately after service, stretched his advantage with a superb drive through the mud-soaked 16.3-mile Amarante 2 test, and extended his gap on Paredes 2 before safely negotiating a torrential Lousada super special to close the leg.

“This afternoon, with these conditions, I’m glad we finished it because it has been very demanding,” said Ogier, who’s going for a record-extending eighth Portugal win. “There was no grip at all on the mud, it was just about going through, but we had a good day.”

The day had begun with Ogier leading Neuville’s i20 N Rally1 by just 3.7s, but the fight was turned upside down several times as rain swept across northern Portugal. Sami Pajari struck first on Felgueiras in his GR Yaris, Neuville reduced Ogier’s margin to 1.7s, and Ogier then hit back through the 12.37 miles of Cabeceiras de Basto 1 followed by Amarante 1.

The shock of the morning came on the first pass of Paredes. Solberg, who’d trailed Ogier by 18.6s at the start of the stage, mastered the mix of rain, mud and changing grip to win the test and leap from fourth to first overall. A surprised Ogier admitted he had no answer to Solberg’s pace in that moment, but his response after the midday regroup and service was immediate. He won the repeat of Felgueiras by 0.1s from Pajari to move back into the lead, while Solberg slipped behind after dropping 4.5s.

Worse followed for Solberg on Cabeceiras de Basto 2, where his front-right tire came off the rim and dropped him from second to fifth overall. Neuville moved back up to second after that drama, with Pajari climbing back into third.

Amarante 2 became the day’s decisive stage. In extremely slippery conditions, Ogier was 11.2s faster than anyone else and increased his lead over Neuville to 16.0s before adding a further 5.9s to his overnight buffer on the closing two tests.

Neuville stayed second overall and best of the Hyundais, albeit only 3.9s ahead of Pajari, after a consistent run through treacherous conditions. The Belgian pushed hard through the afternoon, but admitted there was little more he could do as Ogier pulled clear.

Thierry Neuville lost, then regained second. The Hyundai driver will need to hold off an in-form Sami Pajari on Sunday. Red Bull Content Pool

Pajari sits 25.8s from the lead after another strong day in his GR Yaris. The 24-year-old Finn briefly lost ground in the morning’s run through Paredes, but looks well placed to record a fifth consecutive podium finish.

Solberg recovered to fourth, 49.6s from the lead, after setting fastest time in the rain-lashed Lousada super special.

Elfyn Evans, who led the WRC points heading in to Portugal, ended the day fifth in his GR Yaris, 8.6s further back, after a frustrating afternoon in which he lost significant time on the second pass of Amarante.

Adrien Fourmaux was sixth in the second of the factory Hyundais, while Takamoto Katsuta completed the top seven after a more encouraging day in the fifth of the factory Toyotas.

Toyota GR Yaris Rally1s fill five of the top-seven places. Oliver Solberg briefly led in the morning, but finished Saturday in fourth overall.

Dani Sordo held eighth, last of the Hyundai trio, after describing Saturday as one of his toughest days behind the wheel, while Martins Sesks moved up to ninth for M-Sport Ford in just his second WRC start of 2026.

Behind the Estonian part-timer, it was a difficult afternoon for the other M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1s, with Jon Armstrong rolling on the afternoon opener, Felgueiras 2, and Josh McErlean crashing into the barriers in the Lousada super special. Both crews were unharmed.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Teemu Suninen will head the field into the final leg with a miniscule 0.9s advantage over Jan Solans.

Starting the day fourth, but just 2.6s behind overnight leader Solans, Suninen made the best of the morning’s rain-hit stages in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The Finn climbed one position on each of the opening tests, before storming into the lead on the day’s third stage, where he was 5.6s faster than the rest of the field.

Suninen then called on his experience to manage the changeable conditions, building a lead of as much as 19.7s. But Solans fought back in his Skoda Fabia RS after the midday service, briefly reclaiming the lead on the penultimate stage, Paredes 2, after avoiding the worst of the rain that caught Suninen, who was running three cars further back on the road.

Suninen lost 11.9sec on that stage, but could consider himself fortunate as those behind lost even more time when the rain intensified. His brief loss of the lead set up a head-to-head showdown in the closing, 2.35-mile Lousada super special, where Suninen beat Solans by 2.2s to regain top spot.

After starting the day fourth in WRC2, Teemu Suninen put on a charge in his GR Yaris Rally2 and now leads by a minscule 0.9s. Red Bull Content Pool

Sunday’s final leg consists of two passes of 13.42-mile Vieira do Minho and 6.95-mile Fafe. The second run through Fafe, with its massive crowds and iconic jumps, is the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage.

WRC Rally Portugal, positions after Saturday/Leg Two, SS19
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h09m13.3s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +21.9s
3 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +25.8s
4 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +49.6s
5 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +58.2s
6 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m23.8s
7 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m35.3s
8 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m44.7s
9 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +6m47.7s
10 Teemu Suninen/Janni Hussi (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 leader) +9m17.8s

• Catch WRC action from all rounds of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship on RACER Network and the RACER+ App.

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