How Rally Portugal served up WRC redemption for Neuville 

A roar from Thierry Neuville as he jumped onto the roof of his Hyundai to celebrate victory at Rally Portugal with co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe said it all. This was redemption in its purest form. It was a tonic to heal the wounds and scars after a final-stage error in Croatia let slip a likely win.

The 2024 world champion has gone from utter devastation to jubilation in the space of month. There are few in global motorsport that possess a never-give-up attitude and the resilience to come back from adversity like Neuville.

In Portugal - the first pure gravel round of the season - payback was delivered by Neuville after he let his Hyundai team down in Croatia last month. Desperate to end its victory drought after a miserable start to 2026, having suffered five consecutive defeats to rivals Toyota, this meant a lot. It was enough to reduce many within the sky blue camp to tears of joy, such have been the difficulties the squad has faced this year. 

“It’s a very special one. After what happened in Croatia and the struggle we have for a while, this one is very well timed – not only for me and Martijn but for the whole team, the people that surround us the whole year and fight hard,” said Neuville. “Obviously I let them down in Croatia but we fight back here, we never give up and that paid this weekend. We were always up there, always in a good rhythm and always got through, and at the end we got the victory we deserved earlier.”

It’s not unfair to say that Hyundai and Neuville were mentally prepared to come home in second. However, a penultimate stage puncture for Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier, who controlled the rally from Saturday afternoon, served up a golden opportunity. 

Fortuitous or not, Neuville was only afforded this chance after delivering the pace to remain locked in the victory hunt for the entire rally, something he and Hyundai have rarely enjoyed this year. Just like in Croatia, Neuville stood one Power Stage away from victory. This time there was no mistake as he powered to the second-fastest time through Fafe, despite harbouring a stomach full of nerves caused by the impending rain.  

“It was quite a bit of relief [when the Power stage ended]. Actually I think the relief came earlier when the stage started dry because that was my biggest stress. The weather guys announced heavy rain for exactly our starting time so we expected to have chaos in the stage. We got the first drops at the start line but then it calmed down bit and toward the end the rain came back a little bit but it was nothing that slowed us down," Neuville added.

Neuville held his nerve to take victory after Ogier's puncture on the penultimate stage

Photo by: Diogo Cardoso - Getty Images

Hyundai’s triumph was one of many headlines created in Portugal. Toyota’s Oliver Solberg predicted on the eve of the event that this would be a rally that “will have everything”. It didn’t take long for that prediction to be proven true. 

An expanded four-day itinerary greeted crews following criticism of the punishing 15-hour days behind the wheel at last year’s edition. The rally distance remained the same, including its mammoth road sections, but was now spread across an extra day to provide some relief and extra sleep to crews. 

It proved to be the most hotly-contested round of the season to date with leaderboards constantly shifting. Four crews had spells in the lead and in truth five drivers put forward a strong case for victory come the finish. This was all played out in incredibly difficult to predict weather that changed by the hour as dry rough gravel stages turned into slippery, muddy tests, reminiscent of Safari Rally Kenya.

"The team asked me if Thierry could use my set up for the shakedown as he was not confident and he ended up doing the fastest time on shakedown. So I have to say it is a team effort" Adrien Fourmaux

Hyundai had earmarked a return to gravel as a chance to return to the front. Neuville’s team-mate Adrien Fourmaux even declared that the team’s “season starts now” in its pre-event press release. On asphalt and snow the i20 N has been no match for the Toyota GR Yaris, but now bolstered by an engine upgrade it certainly took the fight to Toyota in Portugal.

Neuville topped the shakedown and he knew he could be in the fight but didn’t exude the confidence that a win could be on the cards. “I want to fight at the front but I also have to be realistic. As long as the feeling is not good I really struggle with this car even on gravel,” he said.

It was actually team-mate Fourmaux that initially led the Hyundai charge and it was their set up that also helped Neuville.

Fourmaux headed Hyundai charge until double puncture 

Fourmaux trailed Toyota’s Solberg after Thursday’s three stages by 3.4s, with Ogier lurking in third 0.2s ahead of Neuville. Fourmaux, desperate to claim his maiden WRC win, rose to the lead on Friday morning posting top three times in each test, to open up a 7.7s lead as the crews headed to the midday remote service.

Fourmaux led the early Hyundai charge until disaster struck

Photo by: Luca Barsali - NurPhoto - Getty Images

However, the Frenchman’s victory hopes were dealt a blow in stage eight when his i20 N bottomed out and fired off the road, picking up front- and right-rear punctures. A loss of almost half a minute sent him down the order. Solberg also went off at the same point but luckily avoided any punctures. Fourmaux recovered from the off to finish fourth and claimed a stunning Power Stage win at the iconic Fafe test on Sunday to limit the damage.

“It [the rally win] is very good for the team and all the mechanics and engineers. For me I have the feeling that we deserve a win somewhere in this championship, but it is good for Thierry to get for the team, that is clear,” said Fourmaux. “It [the victory] is always close but it is difficult to get. It is a team effort, as the team asked me if Thierry could use my set up for the shakedown as he was not confident and he ended up doing the fastest time on shakedown. So I have to say it is a team effort.  

“For me, I have one regret on this rally. When the rain came I wanted to go softer on the car to make it better to really optimise it, but it changed my feeling on the car and I was nowhere in the wet. It is a good lesson.”

Vintage Ogier cruelly denied eighth Portugal win

Fourmaux’s stage eight woes handed Ogier the lead but it hadn’t been a straightforward start to the event for the seven-time Portugal winner, who had been fighting with his GR Yaris. Changes to the dampers at the Friday remote service saw his usual pace return. 

It marked the start of another vintage Ogier display that would ultimately go unrewarded. The reigning world champion ended Friday with a 3.7s lead over Neuville. On Saturday Ogier reminded everyone why he is one of the greatest of all time and what can happen when he is pushed.

Teams had expected rain to arrive early on Saturday morning but it only emerged at the final stage of the loop. It’s not often you see Ogier stunned and speechless at stage end but that was very much the case in stage 14, when Solberg conjured up something quite unbelievable. A moment of brilliance took 19.1s out of Ogier's advantage to vault from fourth and into the rally lead by 0.5s. 

"I have no idea how it's possible to be honest,” said Ogier. Solberg’s effort fired up the Frenchman, who responded in trademark style as he reclaimed the lead in stage 15, while Solberg dropped time to a front-right puncture. But Ogier saved his best for when the heavens opened. Nobody could touch him in the rain, with a time 11.2s faster than anyone else in stage 17. It seemed Ogier had done enough victory. 

Ogier was nailed on for victory until he hit a rock in Stage 22 that undid his entire rally

Photo by: Toyota Racing

However, a rock on the line in stage 22 was to be his and Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari’s downfall. The pair both suffered punctures at the same spot and each lost two minutes changing wheels. Ogier dropped from the lead to sixth while Pajairi wound up seventh having been on course for a fifth consecutive podium in third.

“There are many reasons to keep the head up today for sure. We cannot hide that it always hits you when you get such bad luck after the hard work we did this week, where we did everything we had to do to get through these tough conditions,” said Ogier. “We got very close to the victory, it is hard to accept right now. I have been long enough in the sport right now to know that is the way it is. I have to put that behind me and go to Japan with the guarantee that I still have the speed to fight at the front anywhere and anytime. That is a good reason to keep the head up.”  

Solberg disappointed but relieved, Evans builds his standings lead 

Ogier’s puncture heartbreak did however benefit Solberg, who climbed back up to second, 16.3s behind winner Neuville. After once again displaying he has the speed to fight with the sport’s elite, despite not being truly happy behind the wheel, Solberg was simply relieved to claim a much-needed result after crashes in the previous rounds in Croatia and Canary Islands.    

“I’m very relieved to be honest,” said Solberg, who moved to third in the standings, 31 points behind team-mate Elfyn Evans. “We were leading then we went back to fourth then we were leading again and went back to fourth. It was up and down with the puncture. In the end everyone seemed to get some punctures at some point. I feel very happy. 

"We benefitted a lot from Seb’s and Sami’s misfortune which obviously is not a pleasant way to gain points in a way, but it is also part of the game" Elfyn Evans

“Seb for sure deserved to win. I feel I really deserved this and it feels good after the two tough rallies [in Croatia and Canary Islands]. It is nice to be back on the podium with some good speed even if the feeling hasn’t been 100% my normal pace.”

Opening the road at the first pure gravel rally of the season was always going to be difficult for championship leader Evans. Having faced this task exactly 12 months ago, the target was to better the sixth-place finish in 2025. Aided by the wetter conditions Evans was already on course to do that, holding fifth before the penultimate stage dramas for Ogier and Pajari.

Fifth became third after the delays for his team-mates, ensuring on paper a very strong result that increased his championship lead to 11 points over Takamoto Katsuta, who struggled for speed throughout on his way to fifth. 

Evans improved on his Portugal performance from last year when he was also opening the road, but wasn't happy with his driving in the wet

Photo by: Toyota Racing

But Evans wasn’t overly happy with his performance in the wet - a condition where he is normally so strong - which was underlined by a brief off in stage 17.

“We benefitted a lot from Seb’s and Sami’s misfortune which obviously is not a pleasant way to gain points in a way, but it is also part of the game. There were some really strong moments across the weekend but there were also moments I was far from happy with,” said Evans. “I think the job we did being first on the road was far better than last year and we kept ourselves in contention until Saturday lunchtime but things just didn’t work at all in the rain. When it was low grip I could cope quite well but once it went to this muddy condition I was really struggling and had a lot of moments.”

Unacceptable stage security breach raises questions for organisers 

Solberg predicted the rally would have “everything”, but nobody expected to see two unauthorised vehicles enter a live stage.

A major stage security breach forced organisers to red flag stage seven - the second pass through the famous Arganil test. A recovery tow truck had found its way on to the test after passing through three police checkpoints with the driver unaware it had entered the test. It was caught by a rapidly approaching Evans who was stunned to see what unfolded before him. 

Luckily the truck quickly pulled off the stage and the time lost behind the truck was awarded back to the Toyota driver.

“Obviously it [an incident like this] can’t happen at any level let alone this level,” said Evans, who is yet to receive an explanation as to what happened.

This was just the start of the chaos in the stage as Solberg was incredibly fortunate not to hit a police officer that was standing on the road. Then a second car belonging to the same company as the truck made it onto the stage to assist the truck and was caught by Lancia’s Yohan Rossel. It was this final incident that forced officials to red flag the stage and an investigation into the breach remains ongoing to understand exactly how this happened.  

Rally Portugal has been one of the most well organised events on the calendar and serious security breaches like this are incredibly rare. But as Evans outlined, they simply cannot afford to happen at this level. The organisers Automovel Club de Portugal (ACP) has since been issued with a suspended €15,000 fine and a reprimand.  

Evans avoided drama when a truck got on to a live stage, with organisers slapped with a suspended fine

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Rally Japan ran under a ‘yellow card’ warning from the FIA after a similar breach in the 2022 edition, while the organisers were handed a €50,000 fine and issued an additional €100,000 suspended fine when another similar breach occurred in 2024. 

“These problems can exist and it is how you respond that is important,” said Hyundai sporting director and former FIA road sport director Andrew Wheatley. “We know that the organisers in Portugal are super professional and are very experienced. It is clearly unacceptable but they have done an incredible to get back on track and complete the event. I’m confident we are in good hands.”   

The stewards decision has also been forwarded to the FIA WRC Commission, FIA Road Sport Committee, FIA Safety Committee, FIA Closed Road Commission and the Portuguese ASN, FPAK, where further sanctions could be issued following the completion of the investigation. 

It was the only unsavoury moment from what was once again a rally that never fails to deliver drama. 

"It was probably the worst place you can go off, in front of thousands of fans at Lousada. I don’t know what we could have done differently" Josh McErlean

M-Sport rides the ups and downs

Martins Sesks was the best-placed M-Sport driver in ninth behind Hyundai’s Dani Sordo after another eventful weekend for the Ford squad. Sesks started slowly but found his speed on Friday afternoon, only to suffer a double-front puncture in stage 10. Besides, Sesks fared much better than his team-mates Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong.

McErlean had led the M-Sport charge until his car failed to start in Friday’s midday remote service and he was handed a 50s penalty for being five minutes late out of service. Then on Saturday, the wet weather caught out McErlean as he suffered a spin followed by an off-road excursion in stage 17, before torrential rain and mud rendered him a passenger as he crashed into barriers in the Lousada rallycross circuit super special stage. 

“It was probably the worst place you can go off, in front of thousands of fans at Lousada. I don’t know what we could have done differently as the first car into that corner, many people have said it would have happened to anyone,” said McErlean. 

M-Sport worked until 3am to get McErlean back out for Sunday’s final four stages. The Irishman almost repaid the team with a stage win in the first pass through Fafe.  

Armstrong lost time on Friday afternoon when he was forced to complete the final four stages without power steering. The Northern Irishman then rolled his Puma in Stage 15 on Saturday.

McErlean gets stuck in the mud on the rallycross stage

Photo by: M-Sport