WRC: Sebastien Ogier's fifth victory at Rally Portugal

Sebastien Ogier (M-Sport World Rally Team) wins the Rally Portugal to extend his lead in the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship. For the reigning world champion it’s a fifth win in Portugal and he’s now tied up with the all-time record holder Markku Alen, who won five times in Portugal between 1975 and 1987. Portugal’s victory is 40th in Ogier’s career.

Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo bring a joy to Hyundai Motorsport by winning two podium spots after nineteen stages and almost 350 competetive kilometers through four days.

Neuville finished second at Rally Potugal and progressed to P2 in the championship

M-Sport’s Ott Tanak finished in the fourth place after leading from SS6 in Friday to SS12 on Saturday. Then he made a mistake and lost a lead to his teammate Ogier.

There were seven different rally leaders from Thursday’s opening stage to Saturday’s SS12. After he took the lead on SS12, Ogier stayed in front until the end, beating Neuville with 15.6 seconds advantage.

Other point scorers are Craig Breen (5th, Citroen), Elfyn Evans (6th, Ford), Juho Hanninen (7th, Toyota), Mads Ostberg (8th, Ford), Jari-Matti Latvala (9th, Toyota) and Esapekka Lappi (10th, Toyota). In the last stage, the iconic Fafe, which brings additional points to five fastest drivers, the stage winner was Ott Tanak.

Andreas Mikkelsen was in the WRC-2 class lead until the last stage when he rolled his Škoda Fabia R5, handing a victory to Škoda Motorsport teammate Pontus Tidemand. With that victory, Tidemand extends the lead in the WRC-2 championship.

Check the full results of Rally Portugal

After six events in the 2017 championship, Ogier has 128 points, followed by Neuville with 106 points. Latvala (88 points) drops to third place, ahead of Tanak (83) and Sordo (66). M-Sport World Rally Team remains in the lead among manufacturers.

The seventh round of the championship is Rally d’Italia Sardegna, scheduled for June 9-11.

Photos: M-Sport, Hyundai Motorsport,