Starting in January at Monte Carlo, the French star secured second place, and last month in Croatia, Ogier celebrated a victory in the overall competition. On the gravel of Portugal, Ogier has triumphed five times, a historic achievement.
Only Finnish rally legend Markku Alén, who celebrated victories in Southern Europe in the years 1975, 1977-78, 1981, and 1987, has matched Ogier’s five wins in Portugal. Ogier himself has reigned in Portugal during the seasons of 2010-11 and 2013-14, when the rally was held in the Algarve in the southern part of the country.
His only victory in Northern Portugal came in the 2017 season, driving a Ford Fiesta WRC.
“I’m excited to be returning to Portugal after a year away. It’s a country that I have a lot of good memories of, maybe a bit more from when the rally was in the south rather than the north,” Ogier reflects.
“The atmosphere is always great there and I look forward to that. It’s a rally where normally we should not be at a disadvantage with our road position, and maybe it can even benefit us a bit – but it’s too early to say for certain because there can also be heavy rain there sometimes.”
Ogier last competed on gravel in the Acropolis Rally Greece last September, where the rally ended in disappointment with a retirement from the lead on Saturday evening.
“It will be my first time competing on gravel for a while but we had a good test last week and I’m looking forward to the rally,” Ogier concludes.
The Rally de Portugal starts with a shakedown on Thursday morning. The rally features a total of 22 special stages and about 337 SS kilometers.
