The 2021 Rally de Portugal (also known as the Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2021) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 20 and 23 May 2021. It marked the fifty-fourth running of the Rally de Portugal. The event was the fourth round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3, as well as the second round of the 2021 Junior World Rally Championship. The 2021 event was based in Matosinhos in the Porto District and was contested over twenty special stages totalling in competitive distance.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were the defending rally winners. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, the team they drove for in 2019, were the defending manufacturers' winners. Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending winners in the WRC-2 category, but they did not defend their titles as they were promoted to the top class by Toyota. In the WRC-3 category, Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais were the reigning rally winners, but they did not defend their titles neither as they were promoted to the top class by Hyundai 2C Competition.
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin won the rally, the first of their season. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, successfully defended their titles. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak won the World Rally Championship-3 category. The Latvian crew of Mārtiņš Sesks and Francis Renars was the winner in the junior class.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with an eight-point lead over Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were third, a further two points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a twenty-seven-point lead over defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, followed by M-Sport Ford WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene held a thirty-five-point lead ahead of Marco Bulacia Wilkinson and Marcelo Der Ohannesian in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT led Movisport by fifteen points, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel led the drivers' championship, while Yannick Roche led the co-drivers' championship. Driver Nicolas Ciamin and co-driver Benoît Fulcrand set in second, followed by the crew of Teemu Asunmaa and Marko Salminen.
In the junior championship, Jon Armstrong and Phil Hall led Mārtiņš Sesks and Renars Francis by nine points. Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen were third, one point further back. In the Nations' standings, United Kingdom held aseven-point lead over Latvia, with Finland in third.
Entry list The following crews entered the rally. The event was opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3, Junior World Rally Championship and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Eleven entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were twelve in the World Rally Championship-2 and twenty-five in the World Rally Championship-3. A further eight crews entered the Junior World Rally Championship in Ford Fiesta Rally4s.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 6 Dani Sordo Borja Rozada Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Florian Haut-Labourdette Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 16 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Chris Patterson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 67 Cyrille Féraud Benoît Manzo Cyrille Féraud Citroën DS3 WRC 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 20 Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 21 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marcelo Der Ohannesian Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 22 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 23 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen TRT World Rally Team Citroën C3 Rally2 24 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 25 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 26 Eric Camilli Benjamin Veillas Sports & You Citroën C3 Rally2 27 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 28 Martin Prokop Viktor Chytka M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 29 Georg Linnamäe Volodymyr Korsia ALM Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 30 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 31 Tom Kristensson David Arhusiander M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 32 Yohan Rossel Alexandre Coria Yohan Rossel Citroën C3 Rally2 34 Nicolas Ciamin Yannick Roche Nicolas Ciamin Citroën C3 Rally2 35 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 36 Egon Kaur Silver Simm Kaur Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 37 Emil Lindholm Reeta Hämäläinen Emil Lindholm Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 38 Chris Ingram Ross Whittock Chris Ingram Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 39 Fabrizio Zaldívar Carlos del Barrio Fabrizio Zaldívar Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 40 Gregor Jeets Andrus Toom Gregor Jeets Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 41 Niki Mayr-Melnhof Leopold Welsersheimb Niki Mayr-Melnhof Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 42 Armindo Araújo Luís Ramalho Armindo Araújo Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 43 Bruno Magalhães Carlos Magalhães Bruno Magalhães Hyundai i20 R5 45 Ricardo Teodósio José Teixeira Ricardo Teodósio Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 46 José Pedro Fontes Inês Ponte José Pedro Fontes Citroën C3 Rally2 47 Bernardo Sousa Victor Calado Bernardo Sousa Škoda Fabia R5 48 Miguel Correia António Costa Miguel Correia Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 49 Alberto Heller Marc Martí Alberto Heller Citroën C3 Rally2 50 Pedro Meireles Mário Castro Pedro Meireles Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 51 Jan Solans Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio Jan Solans Citroën C3 Rally2 52 Pepe López Diego Vallejo Pepe López Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 53 Paulo Neto Vítor Hugo Paulo Neto Škoda Fabia R5 54 Emilio Fernández Ruben Garcia Emilio Fernández Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 55 Diogo Salvi Jorge Eduardo Carvalho Diogo Salvi Škoda Fabia R5 56 Josh McErlean Keaton Williams Josh McErlean Hyundai i20 R5 57 André Villas-Boas Gonçalo Magalhães André Villas-Boas Citroën C3 Rally2 58 João Fernando Ramos José Janela João Fernando Ramos Škoda Fabia R5 Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 59 Jon Armstrong Phil Hall Jon Armstrong Ford Fiesta Rally4 60 Mārtiņš Sesks Francis Renars LMT Autosporta Akademija Ford Fiesta Rally4 61 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Porvoon Autopalvelu Ford Fiesta Rally4 62 Lauri Joona Ari Koponen Team Flying Finn Ford Fiesta Rally4 63 Martin Koči Petr Těšínský Styllex Motorsport Ford Fiesta Rally4 64 William Creighton Liam Regan Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Ford Fiesta Rally4 65 Raul Badiu Rareș Fetean Raul Badiu Ford Fiesta Rally4 66 Robert Virves Sander Pruul Autosport Team Estonia Ford Fiesta Rally4 Source:
Route Itinerary All dates and times are WEST (UTC+1). Leg Date Time No. Stage name Distance 20 May 09:01 — Paredes [Shakedown] 4.60 km 1 21 May 08:08 SS1 Lousã 1 12.35 km 09:08 SS2 Góis 1 19.51 km 10:08 SS3 Arganil 1 18.82 km 12:31 SS4 Lousã 2 12.35 km 13:31 SS5 Góis 2 19.51 km 14:38 SS6 Arganil 2 18.82 km 16:05 SS7 Mortágua 18.16 km 19:03 SS8 SSS Lousada 3.36 km 2 22 May 08:08 SS9 Vieira do Minho 1 20.64 km 09:08 SS10 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 22.37 km 10:24 SS11 Amarante 1 37.92 km 14:38 SS12 Vieira do Minho 2 20.64 km 15:38 SS13 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 22.37 km 16:54 SS14 Amarante 2 37.92 km 19:03 SS15 SSS Porto — Foz 3.30 km 3 23 May 07:08 SS16 Felgueiras 1 9.18 km 07:53 SS17 Montim 8.75 km 08:38 SS18 Fafe 1 11.18 km 10:04 SS19 Felgueiras 2 9.18 km 12:18 SS20 Fafe 2 [Power Stage] 11.18 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:38:26.2 0.0 25 1 2 2 6 Dani Sordo Borja Rozada Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:38:54.5 +28.3 18 0 3 3 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:39:49.8 +1:23.6 15 3 4 4 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:40:54.6 +2:28.4 12 0 5 5 44 Gus Greensmith Chris Patterson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:43:18.9 +4:52.7 10 0 6 6 16 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:43:29.6 +5:03.4 8 0 21 7 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:59:04.0 +20:37.8 0 5 22 8 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 4:00:36.4 +22:10.2 0 2 36 9 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:37:50.3 +59:24.1 0 4 Retired SS2 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Florian Haut-Labourdette Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Off-road 0 0
Special stages Day Stage Stage name Length Winners Car Time Class leaders 20 May — Paredes [Shakedown] 4.60 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 3:05.9 21 May SS1 Lousã 1 12.35 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 9:04.7 Tänak / Järveoja SS2 Góis 1 19.51 km Sordo / Rozada Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:59.0 Sordo / Rozada SS3 Arganil 1 18.82 km Sordo / Rozada Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11:54.4 SS4 Lousã 2 12.35 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 9:02.6 SS5 Góis 2 19.51 km Sordo / Rozada Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:04.4 SS6 Arganil 2 18.82 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11:52.4 SS7 Mortágua 18.16 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 11:42.7 Tänak / Järveoja SS8 SSS Lousada 3.36 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:31.4 22 May SS9 Vieira do Minho 1 20.64 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:41.7 SS10 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 22.37 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:33.7 SS11 Amarante 1 37.92 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 24:11.9 SS12 Vieira do Minho 2 20.64 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 12:36.6 SS13 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 22.37 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:36.4 SS14 Amarante 2 37.92 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 24:21.0 Evans / Martin SS15 SSS Porto — Foz 3.30 km Sordo / Rozada Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:04.1 23 May SS16 Felgueiras 1 9.18 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 6:05.1 SS17 Montim 8.75 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 5:44.6 SS18 Fafe 1 11.18 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6:39.2 SS19 Felgueiras 2 9.18 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 6:03.7 SS20 Fafe 2 [Power Stage] 11.18 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6:27.2
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Sébastien Ogier 79 Julien Ingrassia 79 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 183 2 1 Elfyn Evans 77 1 Scott Martin 77 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 146 3 1 Thierry Neuville 57 1 Martijn Wydaeghe 57 M-Sport Ford WRT 64 4 Ott Tänak 45 Martin Järveoja 45 Hyundai 2C Competition 28 5 Kalle Rovanperä 41 Jonne Halttunen 41
World Rally Championship-2 Classification