Volkswagen Motorsport had yet another successful weekend when Sebastien Ogier commanded the season’s fourth event on the calendar, Rally Portugal. Ogier’s teammate Jari-Matti Latvala finished third behind Citroën’s Mikko Hirvonen.
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia took control of the rally after the third stage on day one when Qatar M-Sport’s Mads Ostberg, who was then leading, crashed out. Despite the elimination of a top contender, the French duo also had to contend with a transmission fault in their Polo WRC early on the final day and had to fight hard for their 58 second winning margin.
“The team has done a good job because this was a very rough rally and we have had many small problems. They managed to fix the car all the time so big congratulations to them,” Ogier, who also came down with a virus before the event said afterward.
Finns Latvala and Miika Antilla could very well have fared better had it not been for a broken driveshaft on day three, which cost them four minutes. They eventually finished a little over three minutes behind Hirvonen
“Third place is my first podium with Volkswagen so I’m happy with that. I had a really good run in the Power Stage (for which a bonus point was collected) and I’m feeling pretty satisfied with the rally. From Argentina onwards I hope to be right there fighting for victories,” Latvala said.
The World Rally Championship crosses the Atlantic for the second and final time this year when it heads to South America for the fifth round of the season, Rally Argentina. The event is known to be technically one of the more difficult rounds of the season. Rally Argentina starts on 1 May.
Standings
Driver’s championship
- Sebastien Ogier – 102 points
- Mikko Hirvonen – 48
- Sebastien Loeb – 43
- Mads Ostberg – 32
- Jari-Matti Latvala – 31
Manufacturer’s championship
- Volkswagen Motorsport – 121 points
- Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team – 107
- Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team – 55
- Qatar World Rally Team – 36
- Abu Dhabi Citroën Total World Rally Team – 27
