What is it with late twists in the World Rally Championship this year?
Just when we thought Sébastien Ogier was on for back-to-back victories in 2026, and back-to-back-to-back victories at Rally Portugal, the camera cut to his stranded Toyota as he and Vincent Landais rushing to change a tire.
And so the redemption tale was born.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe delivered one of the most important victories in recent memory; the tears streaming down team manager Pablo Marcos’ face told you all you needed to know.
Here’s what we learned from Rally Portugal 2026:
Hyundai’s right about its gravel pace
“I’m not sure why everybody was making such a big hype that they would be nowhere,” said Toyota driver Elfyn Evans. “The car’s always been strong on gravel, so I don’t see it as a surprise.”
The championship leader’s right, but after Toyota’s complete domination of 2026 thus far (five wins from five before Portugal, just two missed podiums) it was still encouraging – dare we say refreshing – to see Hyundai in the position it promised it would be on the loose: competitive.
Several Toyota figures – including Juha Kankkunen and Sébastien Ogier – commented how important it was to have a multi-car battle, and rally winner Neuville was most encouraged by the fact he and team-mate Adrien Fourmaux were always factors in the fight.
Japan is unlikely to produce the same result, but after that the WRC is exclusively a gravel championship until 2027. It might be too late for a genuine championship challenge, but let’s see if Hyundai can continue to disrupt Toyota’s hold on the WRC.
Evans re-emerging as title favorite
That little blip in Kenya and Croatia is beginning to feel less and less relevant. Evans was back on the podium yet again in Portugal, and crucially did so from first on the road.
Circumstances, namely the weather, helped Evans achieve that, but last year’s Rally Portugal was a particular low point in terms of the Welshman’s pace running at the front of the field, so this was a strong turnaround.
Assuming he remains in the championship lead after Rally Japan, then the test will really begin with seven gravel rallies ahead. But his closest rival Takamoto Katsuta struggled in Portugal, and Oliver Solberg might’ve been quicker than Evans but he only outscored him by two points – keeping him 31 back.
The second half of this season is likely to be a race akin to the tortoise vs the hare, with Solberg trying his best to use his searing speed to erode the advantage of the ever-dependable Evans.
As for Sébastien Ogier, any dreams of a 10th title took a serious hit when his rally lead was wiped out by a puncture, leaving him just sixth in Portugal and now 56 points adrift.
Fourmaux watches another victory disappear
There will only be happy faces within Hyundai Motorsport this morning as the team wakes up, buoyed by a badly-needed victory it never expected to claim just 24 hours ago.
But might Adrien Fourmaux see this as yet another victory chance gone begging?
Circumstance often hasn’t been the Frenchman’s friend since he made the move from M-Sport to Hyundai, and again Fourmaux was ahead of team-mate Neuville before the mistake that blew up his victory hopes.
But he can’t really blame anybody else for what happened next.
Fourmaux paid a heavier price than Solberg for making essentially the same mistake at the same corner, but it was an error nonetheless from Fourmaux.
It’s impossible to definitively say he’d have won the rally had he not gone off that left-hander on SS8 Góis – especially as he struggled for the same feeling in the car on Saturday – but Fourmaux lost momentum and his position as the lead Hyundai. Therefore it was Neuville, not him, who ultimately cashed in when Ogier hit trouble.
Hyundai looks to be a threat to Toyota on the gravel, though, so Fourmaux will aim to finally get that maiden WRC win over the line before the year is out.
Armstrong’s season is sliding
Jon Armstrong’s right: to make an omelet, you must break a few eggs. But there are only so many eggs in a carton.
His mistake on Saturday was understandable given he hadn’t driven properly on second pass conditions before it, and he was unfortunate that team-mate Josh McErlean also joined the retirement list on Saturday. With just one Puma Rally1 to repair, might Armstrong have been able to return on Sunday?
But we can’t ignore the facts. Armstrong, much like Solberg, is yet to string together an error-free weekend in 2026.
He’s impressed everyone with his speed and his confidence, and he’s far better off being fast and suffering incidents than being slow and finishing in the back half of the top 10 consistently.
“It probably just goes to show how fine the margins are,” assessed M-Sport team principal Richard Millener. “I don’t think anybody’s upset or p****d off or anything. You don’t want to be telling people to slow down.”
But after a poor Islas Canarias, Armstrong could have used a clean weekend in Portugal. He’s now under more pressure to achieve that in Japan.
Lancia in the gravel ballpark
Lancia’s new Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale finished just 18th in WRC2 last weekend. Ouch.
But read between the lines and things were far less bleak, with the non-points-scoring Nikolay Gryazin finishing second in the RC2 category and Yohan Rossel running as high as second with three WRC2 stage wins.
Ina similar fashion to Monte Carlo, the car clearly had the required speed – just not the glossy result to go with it.
Rossel’s lowly finish position was due to a mistake on Saturday, which was also weirdly similar to Monte Carlo as he clipped a rock face and did too much damage to continue.
That’s supremely bad news for his championship however, as while he shares the championship lead with brother Léo and Roope Korhonen (who was second in Portugal), he has already nominated four events for points – far more than any of his closest rivals.
