{"id":3336,"date":"2025-05-18T16:17:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T16:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/?p=3336"},"modified":"2025-05-18T16:17:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T16:17:03","slug":"ogier-takes-7th-rally-portugal-win-as-tanak-stunning-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/index.php\/2025\/05\/18\/ogier-takes-7th-rally-portugal-win-as-tanak-stunning-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"Ogier Takes 7th Rally Portugal Win as T\u00e4nak Stunning Comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The final day of Rally Portugal 2025 brought a fierce fight for the podium. After a heartbreaking mechanical issue on Saturday, Ott T\u00e4nak pushed hard on Sunday, determined to recover lost ground, winning five out of six stages in a heroic effort to reclaim the lead. Though he fell just short of victory, he managed to move back into second place, overtaking Kalle Rovanper\u00e4 and finishing just 8.7 seconds behind the winner. T\u00e4nak also stormed through the Power Stage, securing all 5 bonus points and earning the maximum 10 points available from the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sebastien Ogier and Ott T\u00e4nak \/ Photo by Jaanus Ree \/ Red Bull Content Pool <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ogier Makes History Again<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

S\u00e9bastien Ogier held off T\u00e4nak\u2019s late push to secure the overall win, claiming his seventh Rally Portugal victory \u2014 a new record. Earlier in the season, he also made history with a record-breaking 10th win at Rallye Monte-Carlo 2025. At the finish line in Portugal, Ogier was visibly emotional. \u201cIt\u2019s something I can be proud of,\u201d he said. \u201cTo stay competitive after all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rovanper\u00e4, who had a good road position but couldn\u2019t find the pace, finished third and admitted it was a tough event. Long and difficult weekend for us. Definitely a big disappointment that we did not have the pace\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thierry Neuville finished fourth, also describing the rally as a long and challenging one for him and the Hyundai team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takamoto Katsuta played the team game on Sunday. He backed off his pace to stay out of Elfyn Evans\u2019 way, helping Evans in the Sunday points classification. Unfortunately, Katsuta also hit a bedrock in SS23 (Felgueiras), costing him 20 seconds. Luckily, the car wasn\u2019t badly damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston \/ Photo by Jaanus Ree \/ Red Bull Content Pool <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Later, Katsuta went flat out again, even setting up one of the weekend\u2019s most memorable moments with a massive leap over the famous Fafe jump. \u201cThat was quite big!\u201d he said. \u201cI thought we landed in another country!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, by going flat out, Katsuta cost Toyota a manufacturer point. Since he wasn\u2019t nominated to score points, his high placement pushed other nominated cars down the ranking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans had a difficult start to the weekend, opening the road on Friday and again being one of the first cars out on Saturday. But on Sunday, he adjusted his driving style and passed his teammate Sami Pajari in SS22 (Paredes) to finish sixth overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M-Sport Ford team struggled to match the pace of the frontrunners. Josh McErlean came eighth, over 2 minutes behind Pajari, while Gr\u00e9goire Munster placed ninth. M\u0101rti\u0146\u0161 Sesks, affected by a puncture on Friday and a penalty for a start procedure error on Saturday, finished 15th overall, behind several WRC2 cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a disappointing end for Adrien Fourmaux, who had to retire before the final stage due to overheating \u2014 a tough break after a strong start to his season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WRC2 Victory at Last for Solberg<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson \/ Photo by Photoms Media Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After narrow losses in 2023 and 2024, Oliver Solberg finally won Rally Portugal in the WRC2 category. Despite a spin on Friday\u2019s SS6 (Lous\u00e3) that cost him 16 seconds, he stayed focused and made no big mistakes, he was finally able put past disappointments behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight for second was close between Yohan Rossel and Gus Greensmith. However, Greensmith chose to carry two spare wheels for safety on Sunday, and the extra weight upset the balance of his Skoda. He finished third, 16.4 seconds behind Rossel. \u201cA bad tire call didn\u2019t help our cause,\u201d said Greensmith. \u201cBut first and third is a good start to the season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Overall Standings <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udd47 S\u00e9bastien Ogier & Vincent Landais \u2013 3:48:35.9
\ud83e\udd48 Ott T\u00e4nak & Martin J\u00e4rveoja \u2013 +8.7
\ud83e\udd49 Kalle Rovanper\u00e4 & Jonne Halttunen \u2013 +12.2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final WRC2 Standings <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udd47 Oliver Solberg & Elliott Edmondson \u2013 3:57:51.0
\ud83e\udd48 Yohan Rossel & Arnaud Dunand \u2013 +51.8
\ud83e\udd49 Gus Greensmith & Jonas Andersson \u2013 +1:08.2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall Championship Standings after Rally Portugal (rd.5)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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