Sébastien Ogier claimed a record-equalling fifth Rally Portugal victory on Sunday, matching the tally of Markku Alén, as he extended his championship lead.
Ogier claimed the top spot by more than 15 seconds to second-placed Thierry Neuville to claim his 40th career victory on the seven-year anniversary of his maiden win at the same event.
The M-Sport driver's second win of the season puts him 22 points clear of Neuville in the championship standings.
"After the struggle we had in the last round, it’s fantastic to be back on the top step of the podium again," said the Frenchman. "I had a new car in Monte-Carlo and we won, I had a new car here and we won. I’m not sure if the team can afford to give me a new car for every rally!"
A competitive Rally Portugal had seven different leaders, two of those being Ogier and Neuville, with Ott Tänak looking goog for the victory until contact with a bank caused him suspension problems on his Fiesta, dropping him down the order to finish fourth, behind Dani Sordo.
Craig Breen was again the leading Citroën C3 driver in fifth, the fourth occasion in six rallies he has occupied that position. He was 27.2sec adrift of Tänak but well over a minute clear of Elfyn Evans’ Fiesta.
Juho Hänninen netted seventh in a Toyota Yaris ahead of Mads Østberg and the similar Yaris of Jari-Matti Latvala. Latvala returned to the fray today after spending last night in hospital for rehydration after fighting a severe stomach upset.
WRC 2 leader Andreas Mikkelsen crashed out of 10th in the final stage, allowing Esapekka Lappi to claim a place on the leaderboard on his World Rally Car debut.
The championship reaches its midpoint next month at Rally Italia Sardegna. The four-day gravel fixture is based in Alghero on 8 – 11 June.
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