Day 1
Kalle Rovanperä overcame a challenging Friday to lead a frenzied see-saw battle for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal top spot.
The Toyota-driving Finn topped the fifth round of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship by a mere 1.0sec from team-mate Sébastien Ogier on a day marked by five different stage winners, resulting in the top four crews being separated by just 5.4sec.
Katsuta lived up to his promise to push hard from the outset, clinching the Mortágua 1 stage win as well as setting top-three times on both runs of Arganil. He was happy to bring up the rear of a Toyota 1-2-3 overnight despite falling 3.7sec behind Ogier, while Ott Tänak completed the day just 0.7sec further back in fourth.
Although Toyota enjoyed a successful day, misfortune befell title-hunting GR Yaris driver Elfyn Evans, whose co-driver Scott Martin resorted to using his mobile phone to access a digital copy of their pace notes after misplacing the physical book before SS7.
Day 2
Sébastien Ogier stood on the cusp of surpassing Markku Alén’s Vodafone Rally de Portugal record providing he can maintain his lead over Hyundai Motorsport rival Ott Tänak on the event’s final day.
A tumultuous Saturday at the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship’s fifth round wreaked havoc among some of the series’ top drivers, reshuffling the leaderboard and granting Ogier an 11.9-sec overnight lead.
The Frenchman’s Toyota Gazoo Racing team began this penultimate leg with all guns blazing, locking out the podium after a near-perfect opening day. However, their fortunes took a dive early this morning when Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta both faltered on the brutal gravel terrain.
Overnight leader Rovanperä looked poised to tighten his grip on the top spot after blitzing the Felgueiras opener, but he misjudged a right-hander in Montim shortly afterwards and rolled out of contention. Katsuta’s exit was less dramatic but equally devastating: a rearward impact shattered his GR Yaris Rally1 car’s suspension as the Japanese driver battled for third.
The drama up ahead brought good news for Thierry Neuville, who ended the day 59.5sec behind team-mate Tänak having climbed from sixth to third. With main title rival Elfyn Evans languishing in sixth.
Day 3
Sébastien Ogier became the first driver to achieve six Vodafone Rally de Portugal victories on Sunday, powering to glory 7.9sec clear of his Hyundai Motorsport rival Ott Tänak.
The Frenchman is now the most successful driver in the 56-year history of the event, which was a founding round of the FIA World Rally Championship back in 1973. Ogier previously shared the record with Finnish WRC legend Markku Alén before his triumph today.
He headed the i20 N car of Tänak by 11.9sec arriving into Sunday’s four-stage finale and stayed cool to keep the Estonian at bay.
Championship wise, it was also a strong weekend for Thierry Neuville, who filled the final podium spot 1min 1.9sec behind his Hyundai colleague.
Belgian star Neuville extended his drivers’ series lead to 24 points over Elfyn Evans after the Welshman endured a torrid week, finishing down in sixth having overcome a coolant leakage through the final day.
Fourmaux climbed from fifth to fourth, passing the overly cautious Hyundai of Dani Sordo on SS19 and pulling more than a minute clear of the Spaniard by the end.
Citroën C3 Rally2 driver Nikolay Gryazin took seventh overall ahead of Jan Solans, who was the best-placed WRC2-registered driver in eighth. Solans edged Josh McErlean by just 3.2sec while Lauri Joona completed the top 10.
It proved to be mixed fortunes for the Irish stars as Kris Meeke was in the top 5 in the WRC2 Class but rolled it on the penultimate stage on Saturday.
