The final stage of the 2013 Vodafone Rally de Portugal saw Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier take the win, claiming the three points awarded to winners of the Power Stage. His performance also secured him the rally win despite suffering earlier faults with his Polo WRC.
Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team’s Mads Ostberg had been showing impressive pace all day, leading many to believe he would win the coveted Power Stage. In the end he finished the stage in second, just 3.3s behind the leader despite pushing his car to the very limit.
Jari-Matti Latvala finished the stage in third, thanks in no small part to the fact his Polo WRC was once again four-wheel-drive. His third position in SS15 also secured third overall on the rally, resulting in Volkswagen Motorsport’s first ever double podium finish.
Citroen Total Abu Dhabi’s Mikko Hirvonen finished the stage fourth. He admitted he pushed, but only as far as he could on his worn tyres. He finished the rally in second position. Team-mate, Daniel Sordo finished the stage fifth in his Citroen DS3 WRC.
Car 2, Hirvonen/Lehtinen
“I think it’s 48s. It’s not fast enough, but I tried, I really tried. It’s a tough day, really hot. Tough for the tyres. I’m happy with the podium but we have to keep on working, I’m not happy with the pace. Both my pace and the car, the rhythm wasn’t perfect. Second place in the end, it’s not too bad.”
Car 3. Sordo/del Barrio
“We just 52kms in the car, it’s very hot, it’s hard. Very difficult with the tyres, it’s moving a lot. It’s slippery out there, and Neuville was stopped. I’m not happy with the rally, but I’m happy with the car.”
Car 4, Ostberg/Andersson
“I’m not sure, we had some target times for Al Qassimi. I started to push a little too early, so my tyres were gone quickly. I think we managed to take the time on Qassimi. Hopefully it’s enough to get some points. It’s been very good. Things like the crash happen when you’re on this level. I think we did a good rally and we’re looking forward to the next one.”
Car 5, Novikov/Minor
“I’m happy with the place, of course. We tried to take the maximum with the car that we could.”
Car 6, Al-Attyah/Bernacchini
“I’m really so happy with the performance, and thanks to the team, they work really hard. We finished fifth, it’s a good result for me. We’re looking forward to the next race.”
Car 7, Latvala/Anttila
“I need to be happy with the place. It’s my first podium. On the power stage I really pushed, I didn’t know Mads’ splits so I just went for it. I’ve got to be happy with everything. I forced myself to drive rally, I was in taxi mode! Sometimes you just have to have to force yourself.”
Car 8, Ogier/Ingrassia
“It’s a perfect start. It’s been really complicated for us, I got here on Monday I was completely kaput, shall we say? But then I got better and better along with the driving. The team were great too, they do brilliant work. Earlier I was really thinking that the rally was over for me, but I was wrong.”
Car 9, Mikkelsen/Markkula
“I’m very happy with the weekend over all. We had a puncture in the last stage, but other than that it’s been a clean rally. Good fun. I’m looking forward to Argentina and learning some more.”
Car 10, Al Qassimi/Martin
“The most important thing is that in the last two stages I started to do things differently and learn. It has been a good rally.”
Car 11, Neuville/Guilsoul
“We had a good rhythm, but for the first time dust got into my eyes and I couldn’t see, I was blinking to try and see. I’m not happy at all with this weekend, I was not good enough. We need to get more practice.”
Car 21, Prokop/Ernst
“It was good, we managed a good rally with no big mistake. We weren’t able to find any more for 6th and 7th position. We had a big moment just before the finish. I’m happy with the weekend, it was a good rally.”
Car 31, Lappi/Ferm
“Almost perfect weekend, a few problems today in the car but the team fixed it. I think we did a good job today. I think we’ve recovered from Monte Carlo, so we just need to move on.”
Car 32, Wiegand/Christian
“The last stages we tried to drive really slow and safe with no risk at all. We wanted to take care and be safe, but for the finish we are in third place with safe points which is important.”
Car 41, Fuchs/Mussano
“It was a very rough rally, it’s tough on the Group N cars, but it was good.”
Car 59, Bouffier/Panseri
“It was a great weekend, a lot of fun. But now I’m worried as I have a transmission trouble, but hopefully I will make it back to service.”
Car 74, Kubica/Baran
“It has been a big challenge. Especially thanks to the guy who cost us one minute in the dust. It’s been a good weekend, we’ve gained a lot of experience in gravel. Definitely the biggest single new challenge. I’m sure it will be easier next time, but it’s a new thing so it’s always going to have some difficulty.”
Car 79, Barrable/Loudon
“I thought this result was way out perspective. We just kept our head down and this is where we ended up. We drove safe, we drove clean and it paid off. It’s been a great weekend, we’ve had a great time. Hopefully with a bit more time in the car we’ll have a bit more to come, we just need to work on our pace-notes and then go from there.”