After a puncture for Sebastien Ogier, who had been leading until then, Thierry Neuville won the Rally Portugal, which was marked by difficult conditions
Thierry Neuville secured victory at the Rally Portugal in a dramatic finale. With this win, the Belgian and his Hyundai team celebrated their first victory of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC) season.
The 2024 world champion battled for the lead throughout all 23 gravel stages. For a long time, however, it looked like he would finish second, until Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier suffered a rear-right tire puncture on the penultimate special stage.
After inheriting the lead, Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe avoided a mistake like the one they made the previous month in Croatia, when he let the victory slip away shortly before the finish. In the end, he won with a 16.3-second lead over Oliver Solberg in the Toyota. The final spot on the podium was secured by World Championship leader Elfyn Evans, who finished 29.1 seconds behind. (see results)
The rally proved to be the most fiercely contested round of the season so far, partly due to the new schedule featuring 23 special stages over four days. There were a total of four different leaders.
Changing leadership and capricious weather
Initially, Solberg led the rally after Thursday’s three stages with a 3.4-second lead over Adrien Fourmaux. The Hyundai driver proved early on that the Korean brand was capable of standing up to Toyota. However, the lead changed hands quickly, as Solberg struggled on Friday to get the full pace out of his GR Yaris.
Fourmaux took the lead and, despite failing to set the fastest times on Friday morning, kept Toyota rivals Sami Pajari and Ogier at bay. But a setback followed on the eighth stage: Fourmaux hit a barrier with his Hyundai i20 N, went off the road, and lost nearly half a minute due to two flat tires. Solberg also slid off the road at the same spot but avoided tire damage.
Ogier then took the lead and finished Friday with a 3.7-second advantage over Neuville. On Saturday morning, setting in rain caused chaos. Solberg shone in the difficult conditions and briefly edged Ogier out of the lead by 0.5 seconds. Ogier countered promptly in the afternoon, while Solberg fell back due to a puncture in stage 16 and a spin in stage 18.
The Drama on Sunday
Ogier demonstrated his class particularly in the wet 17th stage, finishing 11.2 seconds faster than the rest of the field. He entered the final day of Sunday with a 21.9-second lead over Neuville.
Rain showers on Sunday morning initially cut Ogier’s lead to 14.3 seconds, but the Frenchman seemed to have the situation under control. However, a rear-right tire puncture in Stage 22 cost him two minutes and dashed all hopes of victory. Ogier ultimately finished the rally in sixth place overall.
Neuville, on the other hand, cruised to victory and missed out on success in the Power Stage by just 0.6 seconds against his teammate Fourmaux, who finished fourth overall. Solberg secured not only a podium finish but also victory in the Sunday standings ahead of Evans. In the World Championship, Evans extended his lead over Takamoto Katsuta to eleven points.
The rest of the standings
Katsuta lacked the necessary speed throughout the weekend and finished in fifth place. It was a bitter end for Pajari: The Finn was in second place at one point and heading for his fifth consecutive podium before a puncture in the penultimate stage dropped him from third to seventh.
Hyundai veteran Dani Sordo finished eighth after making the wrong tire choice on Friday. The top M-Sport driver was Martins Sesks in ninth place. The Ford team had an eventful weekend: Sesks suffered two flat tires on Friday, while his teammates Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong fell far behind due to technical issues, time penalties, and crashes. McErlean still managed to finish in the lower ranks after his mechanics performed a late-night repair.
Teemu Suninen rounded out the top 10, securing victory in the WRC2 standings after an intense duel with Jan Solans.
The 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC) continues from May 28 to 31 on asphalt with Rally Japan, which will be held for the first time on its new spring date.
