How Ogier pounced on Rally Portugal win that got away from Tanak

Even Sebastien Ogier had to admit that on pure pace Ott Tanak had him covered. It’s not often the eight-time world champion utters such words. 

This was Ogier’s 63rd World Rally Championship career win, arriving at the same event that kicked off this incredible winning tally 15 years ago. Over the years Ogier has proved the master of racking up wins, and for the majority he’s been the pacesetter, but in that time he’s also learned “it is not always about being quick in rallying”. This was exactly the case in Portugal, as Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais survived 24 stages in what Ogier declared as one of the most demanding rallies of his career to eventually edge an unfortunate pacesetter Tanak by 8.7s.  

“I think it’s something I can be really proud of, staying competitive for all these years,” said 41-year-old Ogier. “I think we proved one more time that race management is definitely a craft we have. 

“It was a tough fight with Ott, unfortunately not fair to the end with his problem otherwise we would have not won, because he was obviously quicker. But it’s not always about being quick in rallying, you also have to bring it home and that’s what we did.”

Hyundai’s response to Canary Islands defeat falls short

The WRC may be more focused on out and out sprints compared to the marathons of the past, but in Portugal these two aspects were most definitely combined. Crews faced a more punishing schedule than in previous years, headlined by a 10-stage Friday leg, that drew criticism from drivers. The FIA and WRC are working to improve this for future events. 

Schedule aside, Portugal is very much a Toyota stronghold having been unbeaten since 2019 with Hyundai’s last victory arriving in 2018, courtesy of Thierry Neuville. While Ogier extended that Toyota dominance for another year, the Frenchman admitted that Toyota was “missing some performance” compared to Hyundai.

Desperate to bounce back from its crushing at the hands of Toyota in the Canary Islands last month, Hyundai started on the front foot in Portugal. Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux found themselves locked in an intense fight through Friday with the gap between the pair fluctuating between 0.2 and 0.8s. The pace in the I20 N was clearly there. 

But by stage eight, Fourmaux’s challenge came to an abrupt stop when his i20 N suffered a sudden front left suspension failure that forced the Frenchman into retirement, while an overheating engine curtailed a recovery on Sunday. World champion Neuville was fortunate to survive a spin in stage two on Friday, but couldn’t regularly match the pace of his team-mates.

Tanak continued his charge, ending a brutal Friday by extending his lead to seven seconds over Ogier, who hauled himself to second. It set up a classic fight between Ogier and Tanak, one that seemed to be well and truly on when Ogier closed to within two seconds of Tanak after stage 12 on Saturday. 

Overcoming a puncture, Tanak responded, finding a set-up tweak that made him the happiest he’s been for a long time in the i20 N. Three stage wins followed, including a time 9.8s faster than Ogier that left his rival dumbstruck by the time loss. “It was looking interesting but unfortunately something went really wrong for us in the last stage [on Saturday morning] and I don’t really have any explanation for it because it didn’t feel bad,” said Ogier, clearly exhausted from the effects of the schedule.

“You are only as strong as your weakest joint. That is the game. It is never only performance, it is never only reliability, it is the package. It is nothing to do with luck, we need to be stronger” Ott Tanak

Tanak knew the second pass through the stages would be rough. Just like in 2017 and 2021 when Tanak seemingly was on course for a victory, trouble struck in the Amarante stage. This time the despair came in the form of a power steering failure caused by broken steering rack casing. Co-driver Martin Jarvoeja engaged multi-tasking mode, calling notes and changing gears for Tanak who had to use every ounce of strength to wrestle the car through to the safety of service. “Two times [in Amarante] we have had the victory kind of safe already, but that’s the way it is,” said Tanak, who dropped from the lead to third.

Ogier survived the rough and rutted stages to take the lead he held until the finish, proving that his rally management remains as strong as ever. The embrace with Tanak at the finish said it all. Ogier knew he wasn’t the quickest but as the Frenchman said, it is not only about speed in the WRC. “I think the wins nowadays need a harder fight to get them,” said Ogier.

Tanak ended the rally with 12 stage wins and underlined that this was a victory that had slipped away by taking the maximum 10 points from Super Sunday. It was hard luck but that’s not how Tanak sees it.

Tanak was denied in Portugal once again – but through no lack of pace which Ogier acknowledged

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“Since Saturday after the first stage we got our balance in the window and then every stage the car was working nicely,” said Tanak. “All the things we have done have been positive for gravel but we need to do more things to be on the level with Toyota. Our weakness is still around these weak links and you are only as strong as your weakest joint. That is the game. It is never only performance, it is never only reliability, it is the package. It is nothing to do with luck, we need to be stronger.”   

Rovanpera still has work to do to find gravel form

After demolishing the field on asphalt in the Canary Islands, Kalle Rovanpera definitely put his early season struggles understanding the Hankook tyres to bed on tarmac at least. The Finn knew after winning on the Spanish island that being fast on gravel was another story.

In testing before the event he admitted that he was yet to find his “happy place” on gravel and that narrative continued in Portugal. The two-time world champion has previously won this event twice but he was unable to replicate the speed that delivered wins in 2022 and 2023.

Rovanpera remained frustrated by a tyre he described as “lazy” and not reacting to his inputs. “I’m still not comfortable with the tyres and can’t have the normal flow that I would have. It is bothering me a bit,” he said.

That being said, the Finn was still able to show his quality despite being hamstrung by this tyre conundrum. Despite starting second on the road, he was able to rise to third that soon became second after Tanak’s power steering issue. There was even a brief moment when it appeared a charge for victory was about to ignite after winning stage 19, taking 11.1s out of Ogier’s lead. “It didn’t feel so good in the car, I don’t know what the others are doing, but I think I could be much faster,” said Rovanpera after the stage win.

But the struggles were clear to see as Tanak managed to overhaul Rovanpera, who had to settle for third, 12.2s behind Ogier.

“It has been a long and difficult weekend for us. Definitely a big disappointment that we did not have the pace even with the good starting position [on Sunday]. We are missing a lot of pace, I can’t be faster than that. No grip and no pace on the car at the moment, so we have to keep working on it,” he said.

Rovanpera hasn’t unlocked the sweetspot with Hankook’s gravel tyres, but showed an upturn in form in Portugal compared to his last gravel outing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Rovanpera closed the gap to Evans in the title race but will need to master these tyres on gravel if he wishes to maintain a championship challenge.

Evans’ title tilt undergoes its first major test

At one point championship leader Elfyn Evans jokingly suggested that he’d forgotten how to drive the car on gravel. Portugal was always going to be a test for Evans, facing the disadvantage of opening the roads as the WRC’s traditional gravel season kicked off.

Evans found himself 1m09.0s adrift of the lead in seventh at the end of Friday while Rovanpera, who started second on the road, was fourth only 28.4s adrift. It was proof that it wasn’t only road cleaning that Evans was struggling with. The Welshman said last year that rough gravel events were his weakness and it appears that remains the case. “I don’t feel that bad in the car. We struggled at the start of the weekend but now it doesn’t feel that bad and the push doesn’t seem that steady but the times are miles away,” said Evans on Saturday night.

“It is hard to still take the positives at the moment, obviously we lacked speed as well as the challenge of the road position, and the two things together really were significant” Elfyn Evans

Evans attempted a change to his driving style on Sunday to see if that could alter his fortunes but to no avail. “I was just being a bit more aggressive at the turn in phase, but you can only do that so much, and where you need to be very precise and accurate I struggled,” he added.

Sixth place was snatched from team-mate Sami Pajari, but with only nine points secured his championship lead was reduced from 43 to 30 points over Rovanpera.

“It is hard to still take the positives at the moment, obviously we lacked speed as well as the challenge of the road position, and the two things together really were significant,” Evans added. “There is a bit of learning to do [with the tyre] but a lot of the challenges I have, have been there for a long time and I can’t see to get on top of them, but they can’t seem to offer much with the car to come towards my style either.”

Evans endured his own struggles on his way to a lowly sixth

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

M-Sport rookie McErlean makes a statement 

Josh McErlean said on the eve of the 2025 season that this year would be a baptism of fire having been thrusted into M-Sport’s Rally1 line-up. The rookie has shown flashes of pace in the four previous events but in Portugal he delivered his most impressive showing yet.

The Irishman had the least experience on gravel driving the Puma compared to team-mates Gregoire Munster and Martins Seeks, but came out comfortably on top to finish a credible eighth, 45.2s ahead of a frustrated Munster. “Honestly, it’s been a really nice weekend, we loved every moment of it. Crazy rally as always, so nice to come to the finish and have some good times as well,” said McErlean.

Granted, it proved to be a challenging round for rising star Martins Sesks as a puncture on stage two cost the Latvian three minutes before picking up a further three-minute penalty for starting stage seven late. But there were flashes of pace from Sesks as his learning curve continues.

Portugal’s new hero embodied the nation’s rally passion 

While there were plenty of drivers questioning Rally Portugal’s itinerary, nobody can question the nation’s passion for rallying. For a country that has never produced a world champion, the fascination with the WRC is perhaps only rivalled at the moment by Finland and Kenya.

An estimated 500,000 spectators enjoyed the rally packing into stages and lining road sections creating an incredible atmosphere. More importantly there were no delays or cancelled stages due to crowd numbers as organisers did an excellent job ensuring the event ran smoothly.

The weekend did create a new Portuguese hero that has picked up an army of fans. Step forward Diogo Salvi. The 55-year-old businessman piloted a fourth M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 in what was his first taste of rallying’s top level, having regularly competed in WRC2 at his home round since 2014. Salvi typified a persona similar to British ski jumper Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards. He was slow but lived out his rally dreams. He endeared himself to the rally community with an infectious laugh and memorable stage-end interviews that culminated with a speech at the end of the rally. 

“What a party, I enjoyed it. Very slow, but I enjoyed it. Now let’s go, [co-driver] Axel [Coronado]. Very professional, very talented, magnificent job, incredible patience to support me. Second, let’s go to M-Sport. All the guys, they did tremendous work. Richard [Millener], you can be proud of your team and give them a raise,” he said, before issuing another chuckle to himself.

“Last but not least, my family. They were always complaining, no more three hours of waiting for me and also thanks to the love of my life for taking care of the children. She hates rallies, but tonight I will give her a dinner.”

Salvi embodied the spirit of rally as a surprise new home hero

Photo by: M-Sport