The Vodafone Rally de Portugal returned as the sixth round of the WRC and immediately delivered one of the most dramatic events of the season. Running from 6 to 10 May and beginning a day earlier than usual following driver complaints about exhausting itineraries in 2025 (read more about the 2025 itinerary here), the rally combined brutal stages, changing weather and constant leaderboard reshuffles right until the final afternoon.
Wednesday
The rally began with the 5.72 km Baltar shakedown, where Thierry Neuville set the fastest time on his third run with a 3:51.2. Sami Pajari followed only 0.3 behind, with Adrien Fourmaux, Mārtiņš Sesks and Elfyn Evans completing an incredibly close top five.
Thursday
Thursday opened with the ceremonial start in Coimbra before the rally headed into three opening stages: Águeda/Sever, Sever/Albergaria and the Figueira da Foz Super Special.
Each stage produced a different winner. Fourmaux struck first in SS1 (11:06.6), Solberg responded immediately in SS2 (15:13.2), and SS3 ended with identical times for Sébastien Ogier and Evans (1:39.3) in Figueira da Foz.
But the day was not without interruption. SS2 was later cancelled following an accident involving car 52, preventing the remaining crews from competing under equal conditions.
Thursday standings
- 1. Solberg – 28:00.0
- 2. Fourmaux – +3.4
- 3. Ogier – +7.2
Friday
Friday delivered the first truly demanding test of the weekend: seven gravel stages through Mortágua, Arganil, Lousã (each run twice) and Góis. Conditions constantly evolved, and with them, so did the leaderboard.
The opening stage already reshuffled the fight at the front. Solberg struggled to find rhythm and slipped to seventh fastest, allowing Fourmaux to move into the overall lead ahead of Ogier and Evans.
In SS5, Ogier himself lost time after struggling for balance, opening the door for Pajari to climb into second overall. Solberg recovered slightly into third, but his momentum quickly faded again in SS6, where tyre choice issues dropped him from third to fifth. Ogier retook third place, only 0.3 behind Pajari, while Neuville quietly edged closer, just 0.2 behind Ogier.
Then came SS7, one of the most chaotic stages of the rally.
Evans was forced to slow after encountering a recovery truck on the live stage. Jon Armstrong completed the stage without power steering, while Josh McErlean arrived five minutes late to the time control. Pajari also lost crucial seconds after struggling through a hairpin, dropping from second overall and promoting Ogier and Neuville into the top three.
The stage was eventually cancelled after the Rally1 crews for safety reasons. A recovery vehicle, incorrectly directed by sat-nav, entered the live stage in front of Evans, and another unauthorized vehicle from the same company later entered in front of Yohan Rossel. The incident later resulted in a suspended 15,000€ fine for the organisers.
The drama continued in SS8. Solberg and Fourmaux both went off at high speed at the same location, but Fourmaux suffered the greater damage. Double punctures on the right side of the car cost him nearly 30 seconds, dropping him from the rally lead to sixth overall.
The final stages of the day passed relatively calmly despite a spin for Pajari in SS9.
Friday standings
- 1. Ogier – 1:28:25.2
- 2. Neuville – +3.7
- 3. Pajari – +15.2
Saturday
Saturday’s itinerary featured wet nine stages, Felgueiras, Cabeceiras de Basto, Amarante, Paredes (each run twice) plus the Super Special in Lousada.
The morning ran relatively smoothly until SS14 completely altered the fight for victory.
Solberg produced a stunning benchmark time while Ogier struggled badly, losing over 19 seconds and surrendering the rally lead by 0.4 seconds. In the same stage, Sordo broke a rear driveshaft while Sesks hit a bank after only one kilometre.
Ogier immediately responded in SS15, reclaiming the lead as Solberg dropped back to second. But elsewhere, the rally turned brutal once again. Armstrong rolled only 600 metres into the stage, suffering terminal damage that ruled him out entirely.
SS16 delivered another major twist. Solberg picked up a front-right puncture and lost almost 19 seconds, dropping out of the top three altogether. The standings returned to Ogier, Neuville and Pajari, effectively resetting the rally once more.
The wet conditions continued to punish crews in SS17. Evans briefly stopped, while McErlean went off before spectators helped him continue. Then, during the rain-soaked Lousada Super Special, McErlean crashed into a wall after another off-road moment.
Saturday standings
- 1. Ogier – 3:09:13.3
- 2. Neuville – +21.9
- 3. Pajari – +25.8
Sunday
Sunday brought four final stages through Vieira do Minho and the iconic Fafe. The conditions meant everything could still change.
In SS20, Sordo encountered a cow on the stage but managed to avoid disaster, while McErlean clipped a bank early in the stage.
SS21 produced a historic moment for M-Sport as McErlean secured his first-ever Rally1 stage victory, after Vivres stole his stage win with a time of 7:11.0, 8.8 seconds ahead of McErlean.
But the rally’s decisive moment came in SS22.
Pajari suffered a puncture and was forced to stop and change the tyre, losing almost three minutes and dropping off the podium entirely. Moments later, Ogier encountered the exact same fate, a right-rear puncture forcing an on-stage wheel change that cost over two minutes and, with it, the rally lead.
In a matter of minutes, the leaderboard was transformed.
Neuville inherited first place ahead of Solberg and Evans, suddenly finding himself one stage away from Hyundai’s first victory of the season. Yet after losing victory in Croatia’s Power Stage earlier in the year, the pressure remained immense heading into the final stage.
Power Stage
Fourmaux delivered the fastest time in the Power Stage with a 6:52.1, followed closely by Neuville, Evans, Solberg and Ogier.
For Neuville, second-fastest was more than enough. Calm, composed and mistake-free, he finally brought the car home to secure Hyundai’s first victory of 2026 after a rally defined by rain, punctures and constant reversals of fortune.
Final results
- 1. Neuville – 3:53:01.7
- 2. Solberg – +16.3
- 3. Evans – +29.1
Super Sunday
Solberg claimed Super Sunday honours after an impressive final-day charge. Evans followed in second, with Fourmaux, Katsuta and Neuville completing the top five in a rally where consistency, adaptability and survival proved just as important as outright speed.
