The 7.9s gap between Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tänak, one of the shortest margins of victory ever on the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, is exactly the same as the one Ogier used to beat Sébastien Loeb on the Algarve in 2010 for his first WRC win! But this margin also reveals the balance that marked this year's edition. Find out how and where the Frenchman made the difference.
"Tires, as always." Sébastien Ogier's laconic response to the Rally TV reporter's question at the end of the Amarante stage revealed one of the secrets of the Frenchman's many victories, as he started out as a mechanic before becoming one of the sport's legends. Ogier's ability to combine speed and tire degradation management was one of the keys to his historic sixth win in Portugal, which allowed him to break the record he shared with Markku Alén.
And Ogier had to work hard, because the 57th Vodafone Rally de Portugal was one of the most evenly matched editions ever. The race had five leaders - Thierry Neuville, Takamoto Katsuta, Kalle Rovanperä, Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier - with six changes of leader throughout the rally. At the end of six stages, only 6.9s separated the top six and, at the end of the first stage on Friday, Rovanperä was leading the rally with a 1s advantage over Ogier and only 5.4s over fourth-placed Tänak. At the end of the first pass through the longest section of the rally, the 37.24 km of Amarante (PE12), the gap between leader Tänak and second-placed Ogier was 0.2s!
But Ogier's management of his tires in Amarante, along with a slow puncture by Tänak, allowed the Frenchman to gain 13.8s on the Estonian in the next stage, Paredes 1. In fact, it was in this section that Ogier 'opened' the book for the first time, as he gained 8.5s on the second fastest, Adrien Fourmaux, and 12s on the third, Neuville.
The other two crucial moments in Ogier's victory were the second pass through Amarante, where the Toyota driver was fastest and gained another 4.1s on Tänak; and the first pass through Cabeceiras de Basto, on Sunday morning, where the Frenchman once again beat all the competition and put the gap to Tänak at 18.1s. From then on, Ogier went into management mode and always seemed to have operations under control.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
"Tires, as always." Sébastien Ogier's laconic response to the Rally TV reporter's question at the end of the Amarante stage revealed one of the secrets of the Frenchman, who started out as a mechanic before becoming one of the sport's legends. Ogier's ability to combine speed and tire degradation management was one of the keys to his historic sixth win in Portugal, which allowed him to break the record he shared with Markku Alén.
And Ogier had to work hard, because the 57th Vodafone Rally de Portugal was one of the most evenly matched editions ever. The race had five leaders - Thierry Neuville, Takamoto Katsuta, Kalle Rovanperä, Ott Tänak and Ogier - with six changes of leader throughout the rally. At the end of six stages, only 6.9s separated the top six and, at the end of the first leg on Friday, Rovanperä was leading the rally with a 1s advantage over Ogier and only 5.4s over fourth-placed Tänak.
At the end of the first pass through the longest stage of the rally, the 37.24 km of Amarante (PE12), the gap between leader Tänak and second-placed Ogier was 0.2s! But Ogier's management of his tires in Amarante, along with a slow puncture by Tänak, allowed the Frenchman to gain 13.8s on the Estonian in the next stage, Paredes 1. In fact, it was in this stage that Ogier 'opened' the book for the first time, as he gained 8.5s on the second fastest, Adrien Fourmaux, and 12s on the third, Neuville.
The other two crucial moments in Ogier's victory were the second pass through Amarante, where the Toyota driver was fastest and gained another 4.1s on Tänak; and the first pass through Cabeceiras de Basto, on Sunday morning, where the Frenchman once again beat all the competition and put the gap to Tänak at 18.1s. From then on, Ogier went into management mode and always seemed to have operations under control. A proven formula.