– The reigning world champion Sebastien Ogier delivered an impressive performance in wet conditions on Saturday afternoon at the Rally Portugal, the sixth round of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC). The Toyota driver regained the lead after his teammate Oliver Solberg lost valuable time due to a tire damage and a spin.
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The eight-time world champion once again demonstrated his class under difficult conditions and finished the Saturday stage over 145 kilometers with a lead of 21.9 seconds over Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville. Toyota youngster Sami Pajari holds third place, 3.9 seconds further behind.
Ogier started the afternoon loop 0.5 seconds behind Solberg, who had surprised the field with the best time in the rainy 14th stage and had stormed from fourth place to the top.
Sebastien Ogier immediately strikes back
However, Solberg’s time at the top lasted only briefly, as Ogier countered directly in the first stage after the midday service. Under largely dry conditions, Ogier withstood the pressure from Solberg. He secured the stage win with a margin of 0.1 seconds ahead of Pajari.
Solberg lost 4.5 seconds in this section and slipped to second overall, 4.0 seconds behind Ogier. In the following stage, he even dropped to fifth place. A right front tire damage, presumably caused by a stone in the rough 16th stage, cost Solberg 18.8 seconds.
This tire problem pushed Ogier to the top, now with a lead of 3.9 seconds over Neuville. Pajari moved up to third place, while championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota) took fourth place.
Rain creates treacherous conditions
Heavy rain in the 17th stage (Amarante) created treacherous, muddy conditions that demanded everything from the crews. This stage belonged to overall leader Ogier, who was 11.2 seconds faster than anyone else with an outstanding drive. This extended his lead over Neuville to 16.0 seconds.
“Not the most pleasant stage, but we managed. The driving level wasn’t great, it was just about survival. I’ll take it as it is,” Ogier explained at the finish.
Solberg shone again in wet conditions, just like in stage 14. This time he couldn’t beat Ogier, but his third fastest time was enough to move up to fourth place ahead of Evans. Evans had to stop briefly after losing control of the front of his car.
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Pajari takes the last podium spot
In the 18th stage, also marked by a lot of standing water, Ogier delivered another brilliant performance. The conditions at times resembled the Safari Rally in Kenya. After losing 19.1 seconds to Solberg in the first run in the morning, Ogier was now 3.7 seconds faster than Evans. This extended his lead over Neuville to 20.2 seconds.
In the final spectator stage on the rallycross track in Lousada, which took place in torrential rain, Ogier increased his lead in the direct duel against Neuville by another 1.7 seconds. Pajari lost his duel against Solberg but held on to third overall.
Solberg maintained fourth place (+49.6), but was frustrated about a spin in stage 18 that cost him valuable time. Evans finished the day in fifth (+58.2) ahead of Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai). Fourmaux managed to win two stages on Saturday but was unable to catch Evans.
Katsuta and Sordo continue to struggle
Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota), winner of the rallies in Kenya and Croatia, experienced a disappointing day in seventh place. The Japanese driver was able to make up some time in the rain but goes into Sunday 11.5 seconds behind Fourmaux.
Dani Sordo (Hyundai) also had a difficult Saturday and did not find the necessary pace to catch up with the leading group. The Spaniard ended the day in eighth overall (+3:44.7).
Martins Sesks (M-Sport-Ford) finished the day in ninth place. Sesks impressed in the wet 17th stage with the second fastest time. His teammate Joshua McErlean was lucky in the same stage when fans pushed him back onto the road after an off-road excursion. However, he later experienced a spin in stage 18 and ultimately ended up in the barriers in the spectator stage after losing control on the mud.
Armstrong retires after rollover
Jon Armstrong (M-Sport-Ford) was the first Rally1 driver to retire after rolling his Ford Puma in stage 15. The Northern Irishman touched a bank just 600 meters after the start, which was enough to roll the car. Armstrong and his co-driver Shane Byrne were uninjured.
It is still unclear whether Armstrong will start again on Sunday. He had previously been in tenth place after fighting back from a power steering problem on Friday. On Sunday, the participants still have four more stages totaling 65.56 kilometers on the program.
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