Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier has claimed his third consecutive WRC victory by almost a minute on the Rally of Portugal ahead of Citroen’s Mikko Hirvonen and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala.
The Frenchman entered the third and final day of the event with a 34.4 second advantage over Latvala, but a slipping clutch on his car and a driveshaft issue on the Finn’s Polo R WRC which led to a loss of four wheel drive, almost halted VW’s charge on SS12.
Citroen’s Mikko Hirvonen looked set to benefit from the problems suffered by the VWs, with the Finn taking 30 seconds out of Ogier on the Silves stage and moving ahead of Latvala by almost four minutes.
However, some roadside fixes by Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia saw the championship leaders extend their advantage to 49.9s at the mid-point service, by finishing second on the mammoth 52.3 kilometre SS13. Despite Ogier being unwell and driving with his “fingers crossed”, he also set the fastest time on the day’s final stage. By the end of the event, the Frenchman’s lead was 58 seconds.
M-Sport’s Mads Ostberg, who made a storming recovery to eighth after re-entering the event, completed a hat-trick of victories on the morning’s stages, SS12-14, with the Norwegian underlying what might have been had he not had his rally ending accident on Friday.
The sister M-Sport run car of Evgeny Novikov finished fourth, ahead of teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah and VW rookie Andreas Mikkelsen. Czech privateer Martin Prokop finished seventh, ahead of Ostberg, the works Citroen DS3 WRC of Khalid Al-Qassimi and WRC 2’s Esapekka Lappi who rounded out the points scoring positions.
Ogier’s latest victory means he has a 58-point advantage over Hirvonen in the championship standings.
Results – Rally of Portugal
1. Ogier-Ingrassia (VW Polo Wrc) in 4.07'38”7
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) – 58”2
3. Latvala-Anttila (VW Polo Wrc) – 4'04”5
4. Novikov-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 5'27”7
5. Al Attiyah-Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 7'43”5
6. Mikkelsen-Markkula (VW Polo Wrc) – 9'39”8
7. Prokop-Ernst (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 15'04”2
8. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 15'04”2
9. Al Qassimi-Martin (Citroen DS3 Wrc) – 15'56”9
10. Lappi-Ferm (Skoda Fabia S2000) – 16’21"0
The Frenchman entered the third and final day of the event with a 34.4 second advantage over Latvala, but a slipping clutch on his car and a driveshaft issue on the Finn’s Polo R WRC which led to a loss of four wheel drive, almost halted VW’s charge on SS12.
Citroen’s Mikko Hirvonen looked set to benefit from the problems suffered by the VWs, with the Finn taking 30 seconds out of Ogier on the Silves stage and moving ahead of Latvala by almost four minutes.
However, some roadside fixes by Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia saw the championship leaders extend their advantage to 49.9s at the mid-point service, by finishing second on the mammoth 52.3 kilometre SS13. Despite Ogier being unwell and driving with his “fingers crossed”, he also set the fastest time on the day’s final stage. By the end of the event, the Frenchman’s lead was 58 seconds.
M-Sport’s Mads Ostberg, who made a storming recovery to eighth after re-entering the event, completed a hat-trick of victories on the morning’s stages, SS12-14, with the Norwegian underlying what might have been had he not had his rally ending accident on Friday.
The sister M-Sport run car of Evgeny Novikov finished fourth, ahead of teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah and VW rookie Andreas Mikkelsen. Czech privateer Martin Prokop finished seventh, ahead of Ostberg, the works Citroen DS3 WRC of Khalid Al-Qassimi and WRC 2’s Esapekka Lappi who rounded out the points scoring positions.
Ogier’s latest victory means he has a 58-point advantage over Hirvonen in the championship standings.
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| Sébastien Ogier, Portugal (Photo: VW Motorsport) |
Results – Rally of Portugal
1. Ogier-Ingrassia (VW Polo Wrc) in 4.07'38”7
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) – 58”2
3. Latvala-Anttila (VW Polo Wrc) – 4'04”5
4. Novikov-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 5'27”7
5. Al Attiyah-Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 7'43”5
6. Mikkelsen-Markkula (VW Polo Wrc) – 9'39”8
7. Prokop-Ernst (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 15'04”2
8. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) – 15'04”2
9. Al Qassimi-Martin (Citroen DS3 Wrc) – 15'56”9
10. Lappi-Ferm (Skoda Fabia S2000) – 16’21"0