The 2019 Rally de Portugal (also known as the Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2019) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 30 May and 2 June 2019. It marked the fifty-third running of Rally de Portugal, and was the seventh round of the 2019 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and the newly created WRC-2 Pro class. The rally was also part of the Portuguese national championship and Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica. The 2019 event was based in Matosinhos in Porto and consisted of twenty special stages totalling competitive kilometres.
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were the defending rally winners. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson were the defending winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category, but they did not participate in the rally. The Swedish crew Denis Rådström and Johan Johansson were the reigning World Rally Championship-3 winners, but they did not defend their titles as the category was discontinued in 2019.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the Rally de Portugal for the first time in their career. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. The Škoda Motorsport crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen took the back-to-back victory in the WRC-2 Pro category, finishing first in the combined WRC-2 category, while the French crew of Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais won the wider WRC-2 class.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Defending world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia led both the drivers' and co-drivers' championships with a ten-point lead over Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were third, a further two points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a twenty-nine-point lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 Pro standings, Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson held a five-point lead ahead of Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively. Łukasz Pieniążek and Kamil Heller were third, six points further back. In the manufacturers' championship, M-Sport Ford WRT led Škoda Motorsport by sixty-two points, with Citroën Total fifteen points further behind in third.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Benito Guerra and Jaime Zapata led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by fourteen points respectively. Takamoto Katsuta and Daniel Barritt were second, following by Ole Christian Veiby and Jonas Andersson in third.
Entry list The following crews entered into the rally. The event opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, WRC-2 Pro, Portuguese national championship, Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica and privateer entries not registered to score points in any championship. A total of sixty-one entries were received, with twelve crews entered with World Rally Cars and twenty-seven entered the World Rally Championship-2. Four crews were nominated to score points in the Pro class.
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre World Rally Car entries 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC 3 Teemu Suninen Marko Salminen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC 5 Kris Meeke Sebastian Marshall Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 6 Dani Sordo Carlos del Barrio Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 10 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 19 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC World Rally Championship-2 Pro entries 21 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen Citroën Total Citroën C3 R5 22 Łukasz Pieniążek Jakub Gerber M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 23 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 24 Jan Kopecký Pavel Dresler Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 Evo World Rally Championship-2 entries 41 Benito Guerra Jaime Zapata Benito Guerra Škoda Fabia R5 42 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Takamoto Katsuta Ford Fiesta R5 43 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson Ole Christian Veiby Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 45 Nikolay Gryazin Yaroslav Fedorov Nikolay Gryazin Škoda Fabia R5 46 Alberto Heller José Díaz Alberto Heller Ford Fiesta R5 47 Emil Bergkvist Patrik Barth Emil Bergkvist Ford Fiesta R5 48 Guillaume De Mevius Martijn Wydaeghe Guillaume De Mevius Citroën C3 R5 49 Henning Solberg Ilka Minor-Petrasko Henning Solberg Škoda Fabia R5 50 "Pedro" Emanuele Baldaccini "Pedro" Ford Fiesta R5 51 Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais Pierre-Louis Loubet Škoda Fabia R5 52 Ricardo Teodósio José Teixeira Ricardo Teodósio Škoda Fabia R5 53 Simone Tempestini Sergiu Itu Simone Tempestini Hyundai i20 R5 54 Miguel Barbosa Jorge Carvalho Miguel Barbosa Škoda Fabia R5 55 Armindo Araújo Luís Ramalho Armindo Araújo Hyundai i20 R5 56 Eerik Pietarinen Juhana Raitanen Eerik Pietarinen Škoda Fabia R5 57 José Pedro Fontes Inês Ponte José Pedro Fontes Citroën C3 R5 58 Jari Huttunen Antti Linnaketo Jari Huttunen Hyundai i20 R5 59 Bruno Magalhães Hugo Magalhães Bruno Magalhães Hyundai i20 R5 60 Pedro Meireles Mário Castro Pedro Meireles Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 61 Pedro Almeida Nuno Almeida Pedro Almeida Škoda Fabia R5 62 António Dias Nuno Rodrigues da Silva António Dias Škoda Fabia R5 63 Diogo Salvi Paulo Babo Diogo Salvi Škoda Fabia R5 64 Rhys Yates James Morgan Rhys Yates Škoda Fabia R5 Source:
Route The 2019 route cut from the 2018 itinerary to meet the regulation of the maximum total distance.
Itinerary
All dates and times are WEST (UTC+1). Date Time No. Stage name Distance 30 May 08:00 — Paredes [Shakedown] 4.60 km Leg 1 — 94.50 km 31 May 9:48 SS1 Lousã 1 12.35 km 10:32 SS2 Góis 1 18.78 km 11:20 SS3 Arganil 1 14.44 km 13:51 SS4 Lousã 2 12.35 km 14:35 SS5 Góis 2 18.78 km 15:23 SS6 Arganil 2 14.44 km 19:03 SS7 Lousada 3.36 km Leg 2 — 165.20 km 1 June 8:08 SS8 Vieira do Minho 1 20.53 km 9:08 SS9 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 22.22 km 10:20 SS10 Amarante 1 37.60 km 15:13 SS11 Vieira do Minho 2 20.53 km 15:54 SS12 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 22.22 km 17:10 SS13 Amarante 2 37.60 km 19:03 SS14 Gaia Street Stage 1 2.25 km 19:28 SS15 Gaia Street Stage 2 2.25 km Leg 3 — 51.77 km 2 June 08:35 SS16 Montim 1 8.76 km 09:08 SS17 Fafe 1 11.18 km 09:49 SS18 Luílhas 11.89 km 10:35 SS19 Montim 2 8.76 km 12:18 SS20 Fafe 2 [Power Stage] 11.18 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Hyundai Motorsport had initially planned to enter Andreas Mikkelsen for the rally but he was dropped in favour of Sébastien Loeb, due to Mikkelsen's inconsistent form on gravel. However, Loeb's rally was conceded almost sixteen minutes as his fuel system failed. So was his teammate Dani Sordo, who grabbed an early lead until the similar issue happened to him. Following Hyundai's double disasters, Toyota managed to end the day with an 1-2-3. Teemu Suninen was the only driver can match Yaris' pace, but a brake failure pushed the Finn down to sixth. Teammate Elfyn Evans hit trouble as well. The Welshman lost almost four minutes when his Fiesta stopped with an electrical problem, which raised heavy dust when went back on the road. The dust affected greatly on Esapekka Lappi, who suffered a puncture early before, but the time he loss was later credited back to him.
On day two, rally leader Ott Tänak hit a damper issue and slashed his lead to just 4.3 seconds. Teammate Jari-Matti Latvala suffered the same problem, but he was unable to finish the rally, so Rally2 for the Finn. A double dose of tactics by Thierry Neuville's Hyundai team boosted him to third, less than ten seconds off the lead. Gus Greensmith had to retire from the day as he crashed his Fiesta into a ditch.
Eventually, Tänak secured a back-to-back victory, while the final day saw four major retirements. Esapekka Lappi was running fifth until he hit a bank and broke the rear left suspension. Kris Meeke spun out second place to his rival before he retired as he crashed into a tree. Gus Greensmith's WRC debut ended up with a crash in the final Fafe stage. Sébastien Loeb was another late casualty, retiring his i20 after hitting a bank in the same stage despite the fact that he had crossed the finishing line.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:20:22.8 0.0 25 3 2 2 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:20:38.7 +15.9 18 4 3 3 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC 3:21:19.9 +57.1 15 5 4 4 3 Teemu Suninen Marko Salminen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:23:04.3 +2:41.5 12 2 5 5 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:27:31.1 +7:08.3 10 0 7 6 10 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:26:53.0 +10:59.2 6 0 23 7 6 Dani Sordo Carlos del Barrio Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:47:47.6 +27:24.8 0 1 Retired SS20 19 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Lost wheel 0 0 Retired SS20 5 Kris Meeke Sebastian Marshall Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Lost wheel 0 0 Retired SS20 44 Gus Greensmith Scott Martin M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC Accident 0 0 Retired SS18 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC Suspension 0 0
Special stages Date No. Stage name Distance Winners Car Time Class leaders 30 May — Talcahuano [Shakedown] 6.45 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:02.1 31 May SS1 Lousã 1 12.35 km Sordo / del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 9:06.9 Sordo / del Barrio SS2 Góis 1 18.78 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 12:19.7 SS3 Arganil 1 14.62 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 9:00.0 Tänak / Järveoja SS4 Lousã 2 12.35 km Sordo / del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:59.2 SS5 Góis 2 18.78 km Suninen / Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC 12:18.9 SS6 Arganil 2 14.62 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:58.5 SS7 Lousada 3.36 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:35.5 1 June SS8 Vieira do Minho 1 20.53 km Meeke / Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 12:59.3 SS9 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 22.22 km Latvala / Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 13:43.0 SS10 Amarante 1 37.60 km Latvala / Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 25:10.4 SS11 Vieira do Minho 2 20.53 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 12:51.5 SS12 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 22.22 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:35.9 SS13 Amarante 2 37.60 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 25:02.2 SS14 Gaia Street Stage 1 2.25 km Stage cancelled SS15 Gaia Street Stage 2 2.25 km Stage cancelled 2 June SS16 Montim 1 8.64 km Meeke / Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 5:49.1 Tänak / Järveoja SS17 Fafe 1 11.18 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 6:38.6 SS18 Luílhas 11.89 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 8:05.7 SS19 Montim 2 8.64 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:46.3 SS20 Fafe 2 [Power stage] 11.18 km Ogier / Ingrassia Citroën C3 WRC 6:35.0
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Sébastien Ogier 142 Julien Ingrassia 142 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 202 2 Ott Tänak 140 Martin Järveoja 140 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 182 3 Thierry Neuville 132 Nicolas Gilsoul 132 Citroën Total WRT 158 4 1 Elfyn Evans 65 1 Scott Martin 65 M-Sport Ford WRT 122 5 1 Kris Meeke 56 1Sebastian Marshall 56
World Rally Championship-2 Pro