French driver Sébastien Ogier is on the brink of making history with his seventh Rally de Portugal win.
The Toyota Yaris driver is leading the 58th edition after two days, holding a significant advantage.
Ogier wasn’t the favorite to win at the start.
Estonian Ott Tänak from Hyundai was the clear front-runner on Saturday.
Tänak dominated the day with three stage wins, but his lead didn’t last.
Ogier was just two seconds behind after the first two stages.
Tänak pulled ahead by over nine seconds in Amarante, the longest stage of the day.
He also won the second passes in Vieira do Minho and Cabeceiras de Basto.
However, his Hyundai i20’s power steering failed with seven kilometers to go in Amarante, costing him 45.6 seconds.
He lost another eight seconds in the super special stage in Lousada, ending the day.
Tänak was disappointed with how things turned out.
“That’s just how it goes sometimes,” he said.
“We gave it our all.
What else can you say?”
Ogier wasn’t thrilled about his win either.
“I don’t like celebrating like this,” he said.
“The real battle is still ahead of us.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
Ogier has won Rally de Portugal six times before – in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2021 was not mentioned but 2024 was.
What’s Next
The final leg of the Rally de Portugal is set for Sunday.
There are 72.16 timed kilometers across six stages.
The drivers will face double passes in Paredes, Felgueiras, and Fafe, making for an exciting conclusion.
The stages are:
- Paredes (twice)
- Felgueiras (twice)
- Fafe (twice)
