Oliver Solberg Claims Lead at Rally Portugal
Oliver Solberg made a dramatic move to take the lead at Rally Portugal after delivering an exceptional performance in wet conditions during the final stage of the morning loop. This impressive result saw him climb from fourth place to first, marking a significant shift in the rally’s dynamics.
Solberg entered stage 14 with an 18.6-second deficit to rally leader Sebastien Ogier. However, the rain that hit the stage proved to be a game-changer. The Toyota driver showcased incredible skill and determination in the treacherous conditions, which seemed to worsen as the stage progressed.
His effort was enough to win the stage by 7.2 seconds over his Toyota teammate, Elfyn Evans. Meanwhile, Ogier, who had been leading the rally, dropped 19.1 seconds in the test. As a result, Solberg took the rally lead by a narrow margin of 0.5 seconds from a surprised Ogier.
“Unbelievable. I had the feeling I tried my best, I just had no grip. It’s not only about risk, I have no idea how [Solberg’s time] is possible, to be honest,” said Ogier, expressing his disbelief at Solberg’s performance.
Crews had anticipated wet stages, but the rain arrived later than expected in the morning, leaving most teams with suboptimal car setups for most of the loop. This created a challenging environment for all competitors.
The overnight leader, Ogier, faced pressure from Neuville in the opening stage of the day. The Hyundai driver managed to gain two seconds on the nine-time world champion, cutting Ogier’s rally lead to 1.7 seconds.
Third-placed Sami Pajari also made a strong move by winning the Felgueiras 1 test, bringing himself into contention, just 10.7 seconds behind the lead. Despite this, Ogier remained unfazed by Neuville’s pressure and managed to restore his advantage, extending his lead to 5.0 seconds in the next test (stage 12 – Cabeceiras de Basto).
The final section of the stage became heavily rutted, making conditions worse for later runners. However, Ogier was able to produce a time that was only 0.5 seconds slower than the stage-winning time set by Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux.
Light rain started to fall by the time Ogier and Neuville tackled the 26.24km Amarante stage. Although it didn’t prove too much of a distraction, Ogier was again only 0.5 seconds off the outright pace, which was set by Solberg. Neuville dropped 3.1 seconds to Ogier, increasing the gap to the lead to 8.1 seconds.
However, the rain intensified for the final stage of the loop, where Solberg delivered a moment of magic to shake up the leaderboard. Neuville dropped to third, 2.6 seconds behind Solberg, while Pajari fell to fourth, 8.1 seconds behind the lead.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans remained engaged in a hard-fought battle for fifth with Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux. Evans started the day with a 6.2-second lead over the Frenchman, who had led the rally until an off in stage eight on Friday. Fourmaux closed the gap to 5.8 seconds after winning stage 12, but Evans managed to maintain fifth place by 11.7 seconds.
Takamoto Katsuta headed to midday service in seventh, having struggled to make any progress in catching Fourmaux ahead. The Japanese driver found a better feel for the car and benefited from advice from 2019 world champion Ott Tanak.
Hyundai’s Dani Sordo continued to face challenges with confidence, reporting plenty of sliding from his i20 due to struggling grip on soft tyres. The Spaniard ended the loop in eighth overall.
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Josh McErlean continued to lead the M-Sport-Ford trio in ninth overall. Jon Armstrong, now running with working power steering after Friday’s heroics, held off team-mate Martins Sesks to sit in 10th position. Armstrong was third-fastest in the wet stage 14 and appeared on course for a maiden stage win before Evans and Solberg came through.
The crews will repeat the stages this afternoon before a short blast through the Lousada super special stage, which will conclude a huge 145km leg.
