Ogier Retakes Portugal Rally Lead After SS15

Sébastien Ogier moved back into the overall lead of Rally Portugal 2026 after delivering a strong performance on SS15 Felgueiras 2. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver edged teammate Sami Pajari by just one tenth of a second on the stage to regain momentum in the fight for victory.

Pajari appeared on course for the fastest stage time for much of the test, but Ogier improved significantly in the final sector to move ahead. The result leaves Ogier leading the rally by only four seconds over Oliver Solberg, underlining the intensity of the battle at the front of the Portugal WRC round.

“The conditions were different compared to this morning, but I like the profile of this stage. I just tried to drive with a good rhythm,” said Pajari.

Baca JugaSolberg Bangkit di SS19, Ogier Tetap Aman

Ogier admitted he had started to increase his level of attack in response to the pace shown by his rivals. The constantly evolving gravel conditions in Portugal forced drivers to continuously adapt braking points, grip management, and tyre usage throughout the stage.

“I pushed a little bit more now. We had to respond to the pace of the others. This is going to become interesting,” Ogier explained.

Solberg, who had led the rally after his standout wet-weather performance earlier in the day, was not satisfied with his run on SS15. The Swedish driver lost 4.5 seconds to the benchmark time after struggling with poor visibility and rough road conditions filled with large rocks.

“It did not feel very good. There were many big rocks on the road and I was trying to save the tyres,” Solberg said.

Thierry Neuville remains third overall for Hyundai Motorsport, only 5.5 seconds behind Ogier. The Belgian driver admitted he was surprised to lose 3.3 seconds to Pajari despite feeling he had completed a strong stage.

“I do not understand where I could have been faster. Incredible. I think we drove a really good stage,” said Neuville.

The rally battle has now tightened further, with the top four drivers separated by less than eight seconds after SS15. Weather conditions, tyre strategy, and stage rhythm are expected to become decisive factors across the remaining Saturday stages.

Pos	Driver	Car	Time
1	Sébastien Ogier	Toyota	2:22:01.2
2	Oliver Solberg	Toyota	+4.0
3	Thierry Neuville	Hyundai	+5.5
4	Sami Pajari	Toyota	+7.7
5	Elfyn Evans	Toyota	+20.2
6	Adrien Fourmaux	Hyundai	+33.2
7	Takamoto Katsuta	Toyota	+1:00.9
8	Dani Sordo	Hyundai	+2:15.5
9	Josh McErlean	Ford	+3:06.1
10	Martins Sesks	Ford	+6:05.9

Remaining Rally Portugal 2026 stages on Saturday (Western Indonesia Time):

Stage	Name	Distance	Time
SS16	Cabeceiras de Basto 2	19.91 km	23:05 WIB
SS17	Amarante 2	26.24 km	00:35 WIB
SS18	Paredes 2	16.09 km	02:05 WIB
SS19	SSS Lousada	3.78 km	03:05 WIB

Rally Portugal 2026 still has four stages remaining on Saturday before the event heads into Sunday’s decisive Fafe Power Stage. With only seconds separating the leading contenders, changing weather conditions and tyre strategy are expected to play a crucial role in the battle for victory.