Rally Portugal: Thierry Neuville wins, Adrien Fourmaux takes the Power Stage

Under very high tension, a Rally Portugal was anything but a relaxing weekend for anyone! Drivers, co-drivers, spectators… Torrential rain, atrocious conditions, and unexpected twists were commonplace throughout the weekend. Ultimately, it was Thierry Neuville who emerges victorious from this contest, completing his rally in 3:53:01.7, 16,3 seconds ahead of Oliver Solberg, and 29,1 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans who complete the podium. Adrien fourmaux, fourth overall, manages to secure a victory in the Power Stage, earning him five more points in the standings. WRC.

Not included in the top of this ranking, Sébastien Ogier Thierry Neuville finished the Rally of Portugal in a somewhat anonymous 6th place. Leading until the start of SS22, the penultimate stage of the rally, the driver from Gap suffered a puncture that proved to be the turning point of the stage. While Neuville hadn't been the most impressive, winning only two stages, he managed to stay afloat in the torrential rain of Portugal, where all the other leaders suffered punctures. Oliver Solberg, for example – winner of this Super Sunday by 4,2 seconds over Elfyn Evans – suffered two punctures and went off the road several times, despite managing to win a total of four of the rally's 23 stages. Sami Pajari, Adrien Fourmaux, and Joshua McErlean all had to deal with similar mishaps, while the rain and mud made the whole process extremely demanding for the teams.

Memorable special stages and decisive accidents in Portugal

Aside from SS22, several moments stood out as some of the highlights of this WRC weekend. For example, during SS17, when Sébastien Ogier burst through the mud and torrential rain of Portugal, it seemed as though the overall victory had been decided there, as the Frenchman from Gap had just opened up a gap of over 11 seconds on the rest of the field. Oliver Solberg had also experienced a similar moment earlier that same Saturday, gaining 7,2 seconds on his closest rival in a single stage, and pushing Sébastien Ogier back to 19 seconds at that point. By doing so, the Swede took the lead in the Rally of Portugal at midday.

In addition to these numerous events, it's worth noting that in WRC2, victory went to Finland's Teemu Suninen. Ahead of Nikolay Gryazin (who hadn't entered the Rally of Portugal despite his strong result), Suninen, like Thierry Neuville, delivered a focused rally, successfully overcoming obstacles, unlike many other drivers in the category. Frenchman Yohan Rossel, in contention for a podium finish on Saturday afternoon, notably suffered a setback after going off the road in SS17, effectively ending his hopes at that point.

The standings have therefore changed. Elfyn Evans remains the WRC leader ahead of Takamoto Katsuta and Oliver Solberg, who is third. With 123 points, the Welshman enjoys a 12-point lead over his Japanese rival, while Solberg has 92 points at this stage. Sébastien Ogier, in tenth place, hasn't made the comeback he hoped for in the title race, but remains ahead of Thierry Neuville with 65 points.

ALSO READ > Thierry Neuville wins! Relive the Super Sunday of the Rally of Portugal with live text commentary.

WRC – Rally Portugal
The final standings after the Power Stage