The 2015 Rally de Portugal was the fifth round of the 2015 World Rally Championship season. For the first time since 2001, the Rally de Portugal returned to the north of Portugal, returning to the stage sections that earned the rally the world's best award 6 times, and large crowds lined the stages.
Jari-Matti Latvala won the Rally de Portugal for the first time, taking his first victory of the 2015 season.
Entry list
Notable entrants Entrant Driver Co-driver Car 1 WRC 2 WRC 3 WRC 4 WRC 5 WRC 6 WRC 7 WRC 8 WRC 9 WRC 12 WRC 14 WRC 16 WRC 20 WRC 21 WRC 31 WRC-2 32 WRC-2 33 WRC-2 34 WRC-2 36 WRC-2 37 WRC 38 WRC-2 39 WRC-2 40 WRC-2 41 WRC-2 42 WRC-2 45 WRC-2 45 WRC-2 51 WRC-2 52 WRC-2 54 WRC-2 75 WRC-2 Icon Class WRC WRC entries eligible toscore manufacturer points WRC WRC entries ineligible toscore manufacturer points WRC-2 Registered to take part inWRC-2 championship
Report The race began with the return of the mythical super special stage at Lousada rallycross track, with 15,000 spectators attending. As in the shakedown, Andreas Mikkelsen was the fastest, followed by Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. Robert Kubica took the all-new Ford Fiesta RS WRC – as premiered by M-Sport – to 4th place.
On the second day of the event, the rally moved to the Minho Province, with the section of Caminha proving to be quite hard, causing several dropouts and mechanical breakdowns. Ogier, as championship leader, was first into the stages and suffered a flat tyre on the second stage and finished the day in 2nd overall. At the end of the fifth stage, Latvala was the leader by 11.1 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke, with Mikkelsen 16 seconds down in third. Dani Sordo, winner of the first stage of the day, was only 5th.
On Saturday, Ogier regained some time, winning all three afternoon stages and finished the day in 2nd place, 9.5 seconds behind the leader, Latvala. Meeke won two of the stages and was 3rd, 20 seconds behind Latvala. Mikkelsen – the day's other stage winner – was fourth, trailing Meeke by 1.1 seconds. Elfyn Evans retired after the day's first stage with electrical problems in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, while Tanak and Sordo – already at more than a minute behind the lead – were out of the fight for a podium finish. Neuville overturned and Ostberg suffered engine problems in his Citroën.
On Sunday, three stages remained; two runs of the Fafe stage – the second being the power stage – with one pass through the Vieira do Minho. On the first pass of Fafe, and the benefit of a better road position, Ogier gained 1.7 seconds on Latvala. Latvala recovered the time loss and increased the advantage to 10.4 seconds, while Mikkelsen moved ahead of Meeke into a podium position. In the decisive power-stage, Ogier recovered 2.2 seconds on Latvala, and as a result, Latvala won the event by 8.2 seconds.
Results
Event standings (top-10)
Driver Co-driver Team Car Class Time Points Overall classification 1 2 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 3:30:35.3 2 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 3:30:43.5 +8.2 3 9 Andreas Mikkelsen Mikko Markkula Volkswagen Motorsport II Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 3:31:03.9 +28.6 4 3 Kris Meeke Paul Nagle Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroën DS3 WRC WRC 3:31:24.0 +48.7 12 5 6 Ott Tänak Raigo Mõlder M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 3:32:32.1 +1:56.8 10 6 8 Dani Sordo Marc Martí Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC WRC 3:33:03.2 +2:27.9 8 7 4 Mads Østberg Jonas Andersson Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroën DS3 WRC WRC 3:33:07.5 +2:32.2 6 8 20 Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai Shell World Rally Team Hyundai i20 WRC WRC 3:33:29.6 +2:54.3 4 9 14 Robert Kubica Maciej Szczepaniak Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 3:35:14.4 +4:39.1 2 10 21 Martin Prokop Jan Tománek Jipocar Czech National Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 3:38:06.5 +7:31.2 1
Special stages DayStageNameLengthWinnerCarTimeRally leader Leg 1(21–22 May) SS1 SSS Lousada 3.36 km 2:41.1 SS2 Ponte de Lima 1 27.53 km 19:41.5 SS3 Caminha 1 18.05 km 10:48.9 SS4 Viana do Castelo 1 18.73 km 11:38.3 SS5 Ponte de Lima 2 27.53 km Stage cancelled SS6 Caminha 2 18.05 km 10:49.6 SS7 Viana do Castelo 2 18.73 km 11:30.1 Leg 2(23 May) SS8 Baião 1 18.57 km 11:48.3 SS9 Marão 1 26.30 km 17:11.1 SS10 Fridão 1 37.67 km 25:40.5 SS11 Baião 2 18.57 km 11:43.0 SS12 Marão 2 26.30 km 16:58.7 SS13 Fridão 2 37.67 km 25:17.9 Leg 3(24 May) SS14 Fafe 1 11.15 km 6:49.8 SS15 Vieira do Minho 32.35 km 20:38.7 SS16 Fafe 2 (Power Stage) 11.15 km 6:43.0
Power Stage The "Power stage" was a stage at the end of the rally. PosDriverCarTimeDiff.Pts 1 Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:43.0 0.0 3 2 Jari-Matti Latvala Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:45.2 +2.2 2 3 Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:47.0 +4.0 1
References