Rally
Sebastien Ogier aims for Portugal WRC record
The four-time winner is just one win away from equaling the race record for wins, but will Ogier get the elusive fifth win after back-to-back losses in Portugal?
The 51st running of Rally de Portugal takes place this weekend, May 18-21, around Matosinhos, near Porto, in the north of the country. The WRC, WRC2 and WRC3 categories will run for a total of 1,529.01 kilometers with 19 stages of 349.17 kilometers in play on the all-gravel surface.
One of the oldest and longest-running events on the WRC calendar, it made its debut 49 years ago in the 1967 season. It has run since then, only missing for five years between 2002 and 2006. It has won the award for ‘The Best Rally in the World’ five times and it was also handed the trophy for ‘The Most Improved Rally of the Year’ in 2000.
The last year’s event was won by Abu Dhabi Total WRT’s Kris Meeke (co-driver Paul Nagle) in the Citroen DS3, after the British driver claimed eight stage wins, holding off the Volkswagen duo of Andreas Mikkelsen (co-driver Andreas Jaeger) and Sebastien Ogier (co-driver Julien Ingrassia).
M-Sport WRT’s Ogier will be eyeing a record-equaling win this year, a record he has been chasing since 2015. The Frenchman is in pursuit to go on par with Markku Alen’s record of five Rally Portugal victories.
The Finnish racer’s first WRC win was in Portugal in 1975 with co-driver Iikka Kivimaki in the Fiat Abarth 124 Rally. The 66-year-old then went on to claim four more wins in Portugal (1977, 1978, 1981 and 1987) among his total of 19 career victories, including a world title in the 1978 season.
Ogier, 33, has had his share of glory in the country as well. The four-time champion won his first Portugal rally in 2010 racing for the Citroen Junior Team. He followed it up with a second consecutive victory in 2011 for the Citroen Total WRT outfit. After only managing seventh in 2012 for Skoda, Ogier returned to the top step in 2013 and 2014 in the Volkswagen Polo WRC.
We run down Ogier’s four victories as we head towards the 2017 edition:
2010 Rally de Portugal - Maiden career win for Ogier
Ogier makes his big move in the 2010 race
© Red Bull Content Pool
The sixth round in the 2010 season, the 44th edition of Rally de Portugal took place during May 27-30 at Faro. It constituted 18 stages and ran for 355.32 kilometers (total of 1,223.07 kilometers) on mainly a gravel surface, with some stages on asphalt.
Racing for the Citroen Junior Team, Ogier claimed his maiden WRC victory in Portugal, in only his second full season in the senior level. The young French driver beat the more accomplished fellow countryman, Sebastian Loeb (co-driver Daniel Elena), who was contesting the season for the Citroen Total WRT squad.
Having taken two podium finishes in the season, Ogier started the weekend soundly leading the first day from Sordo (co-driver Marc Marti), before Loeb sprung into the action in the next two days. The nine-time WRC champion truncated Ogier’s lead on the final day, but couldn’t manage to beat his new rival, eventually finishing a mere 7.9s off Ogier’s time, with Sordo completing the podium positions.
"It's a fantastic feeling, really fantastic. Sebastien Loeb is the best driver in the world and it's always difficult to conserve the lead when he is behind you. But we pushed hard for all-through the rally and managed to keep him behind,” a beaming Ogier said after the event, taking six stage wins to his name.
2011 Rally de Portugal – Bouncing back to a dominant second win
Ogier enjoys his victory on the podium
© Red Bull Content Pool
The third round in the 2011 season, the 45th edition of Rally de Portugal took place during March 24-26 at Faro with a special stage in the city of Lisbon. The 2011 event had 17 stages, all on a gravel surface, running for 385.37 kilometres (total of 1,359.71 kilometres).
For 2011, Ogier moved to the senior Citroen outfit alongside his longtime hero, Loeb. Ogier had a different Rally Portugal this time around as he had to come back from third place on the opening day of the race. Ford Abu Dhabi WRT’s Mikko Hirvonen (co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen) led the race until then.
Ogier in the 2011 Citroen car
© Red Bull Content Pool
Ogier took the lead from the Finn on the second day. He went on to keep it intact on the final day to claim his third WRC win, defending his Portugal crown. In the end, with seven stage wins to his name, a dominant Ogier finished 31.8s ahead of teammate Loeb, with Latvala in his Ford Abu Dhabi WRT car rounding off the Top 3 positions.
2013 Rally de Portugal – Fending off the competition and issues for third victory
In 2012, Ogier could only manage seventh in the order amid a tumultuous season where he competed for Volkswagen Motorsport in the Skoda Fabia S2000 machinery. The rally was won by Adapta WRT’s Mads Ostberg (co-driver Jonas Andersson), before Ogier made a successful return to Portugal in 2013.
The 47th edition of Rally de Portugal, the fourth event on the 2013 calendar took place during April 11-14 weekend at Faro. It had 15 stages, running for 386.73 kilometres on the gravel surface.
In his all-new Volkswagen Polo machinery, Ogier riding high after winning in Sweden and Mexico, faced a tough challenge during the Portugal rally when his car was hit with mechanical problems. The start of the rally saw Qatar M-Sport WRT’s Ostberg comfortably ahead of Ogier with the Frenchman also facing a stiff challenge from Abu Dhabi Citroen Total WRT’s Sordo (co-driver Carlos del Barrio).
But with Ostberg and Sordo both retiring, the Frenchman was able to take control of the rally on the second day from teammate Latvala and Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s Hirvonen. The final day had more twists when both the Volkswagen cars suffered issues, where they lost crucial time on the road to Hirvonen.
Still, Ogier was able to recover quickly and with six stage wins, including the Power Stage, the French driver was able to claim his third win in Portugal by a healthy margin of 58.2s from Hirvonen, who comfortably managed to beat Latvala in the process.
With nine victories (Sweden, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Australia, France, Spain and Britain) and two podiums (Monaco & Argentina) in the season, Ogier took his maiden drivers’ title, handsomely beating Theirry Neuville of Qatar WRT Ford Fiesta team.
2014 Rally de Portugal – Inching closer to record-equaling five wins
The fourth rally in the 2014 season, the 48th running of Rally de Portugal at Faro took place during April 3-6, amassing 16 stages, running for 339.46 kilometres (total 1,394.30 kilometres).
Staying with Volkswagen, Ogier was challenged by Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s Sordo and M-Sport WRT’s (Ford Fiesta) of Hirvonen across the four days of the rally. The Frenchman took the initial lead in tricky conditions despite being chased by Sordo early on during the first two days of running.
With Sordo’s pace subsiding, Hirvonen found the speed to challenge Ogier on the second day. But Ogier had enough in his tank to take his fourth win in Portugal, after winning eight stages and beating Hirvonen by 43.2s. Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s Ostberg completed the Top 3 positions after Sordo’s retirement.
His fourth Rally Portugal win brought Ogier up to second on the "Most Wins" list, pulling away from the "three wins group" of Finnish driver Hannu Mikkola (1979, 1983, 1984) and the Italian Mikki Biasion (1988, 1989, 1990). Portugal’s Armindo Araujo also won thrice in 2003, 2004 and 2006, when the rally was not part of the WRC calendar.
Overall in the 2014 season, Ogier took his second world title with eight wins (Monaco, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Australia, Spain & Britain) and claimed two podiums (Argentina and Finland), beating teammate Latvala in the process.
Can Ogier equal the record and make it five Rally Portugal wins in 2017?
As the WRC series heads to Portugal for Round 6 in the 2017 season, Ogier will be aiming to get his name in the record books, after missing out in 2015 and 2016 seasons. Ogier, who could only manage second and third in the previous two outings will be motivated this time around to finally equal the record.
M-Sport’s Ogier (102 points) currently leads the championship by 16 points over Toyota’s Latvala (86 points) after five rounds. The Frenchman is in a spot of bother, especially with the resurgence of Hyundai’s Neuville, who sits third in the standings with 84 points, and is coming off hot on heels after two consecutive wins in France and Argentina.
Will Ogier be able to equal the record? Will Hyundai get its first win in Portugal? It’s still early days in the WRC season, but there’s plenty at stake already.
Catch all the highlights from Rally de Portugal 2017 on Red Bull TV from Saturday, May 20 onwards here.