Rally Portugal veteran Sébastien Ogier delivered a masterclass in wet conditions, reclaiming the lead after Oliver Solberg lost time to a puncture and a spin on Saturday.
The nine-time world champion showcased his class on the treacherous surfaces, ending the day’s mammoth 145-kilometer leg with a 21.9-second advantage over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Toyota’s Sami Pajari held third, a further 3.9 seconds behind.
Ogier began the afternoon loop trailing Solberg by 0.5 seconds after the young driver stunned the field to climb from fourth to first in wet stage 14. However, Solberg’s time at the front was short-lived. Ogier responded immediately in the first stage after midday service, held in largely dry conditions. Admitting he needed to push after Solberg’s stage 14 time, Ogier took the stage win by 0.1 seconds from Pajari.
Solberg dropped 4.5 seconds in that test, falling to second overall, 4.0 seconds behind Ogier. But second place turned into fifth by the next stage. A front-right puncture—likely picked up from exposed bedrock in the rough stage 16—cost Solberg 18.8 seconds. That mishap elevated Ogier into a 3.9-second rally lead over Neuville, with Pajari moving to third and championship leader Elfyn Evans snatching fourth.
Heavy rain created treacherous wet and muddy conditions for stage 17 (Amarante), pushing crews to their limits. Rally leader Ogier delivered a stunning effort, going 11.2 seconds faster than anyone else to extend his lead over Neuville to 16.0 seconds.
“Not the most enjoyable stage, but we made it. The driving was not so awesome—it was about surviving in there. I will take that,” Ogier said.
Solberg again excelled in the wet, as he had in stage 14, but could not beat Ogier. His third-fastest time was enough to move up to fourth ahead of Evans, who stopped briefly after losing the front of his car. Ogier delivered another head-turning drive to win stage 18, which featured plenty of standing water—including a section reminiscent of Safari Rally Kenya. After dropping 19.1 seconds to Solberg in the morning pass of the same stage, Ogier set a time 3.7 seconds faster than Evans, taking the stage win and moving into a 20.2-second rally lead over Neuville.
Ogier then extended his lead by another 1.7 seconds by beating Neuville. In the head-to-head Super Special held in torrential rain at the Lousada rallycross circuit, Pajari lost his duel with Solberg but remained third overall. Solberg held onto fourth [+49.6s] but was frustrated by a spin in stage 18 that cost valuable time. Championship leader Evans completed the loop in fifth [+58.2s], ahead of Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who claimed two stage wins on Saturday but could not catch Evans.
Safari Rally Kenya and Croatia winner Takamoto Katsuta was also frustrated for much of the day, stuck in seventh. The Japanese driver made up time in the wet to head into Sunday just 11.5 seconds behind Fourmaux. Hyundai’s Dani Sordo endured a frustrating Saturday, unable to find the speed to close on the lead group; he ended the day in eighth overall [+3m44.7s].
