Rally of Portugal 2026, SS10: Ogier new leader at the end of Day 2

Rally of Portugal 2026, SS10: Ogier new leader at the end of Day 2

The French flag always waves above the highest step of the virtual podium of the Rally of Portugal, but the identity of the driver changes: after Adrien Fourmaux, who had finished the morning of Day 2 at the top of the group with his Hyundai, the provisional leader now answers to the name of Sébastien Ogier. The nine-time world champion won three of the four afternoon stages, also taking advantage of an unfortunate incident that happened to Fourmaux, who lost several positions in the standings due to a puncture.

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SS7-SS10: Ogier new leader

Compared to the morning tests of Day 2, Pajari faced greater difficulties in the first afternoon stage, with the 6th place finish costing him a drop to fifth overall. Despite the fourth time, Fourmaux maintained the lead, but the first twist occurred precisely to the detriment of the Frenchman in the next stage: while Solberg lost ground due to an off-road excursion, at the same point the Hyundai driver had to deal with a puncture, finishing 16th. An episode that opened the doors of leadership to Ogier (who also won the stage ahead of Neuville), followed by Pajari and Neuville. Also surprising was the fourth position of Martins Sesks, who in SS9 even improved his performance with the 3rd best time behind Ogier and Neuville, still in the top two positions of SS9 and overall. Despite the third time behind Solberg and Neuville in SS10, the reigning world champion still ended the second day of the Portuguese rally ahead, with a lead of almost 4 seconds over Neuville and 15 over Pajari. Further back was the current championship leader, Elfyn Evans, 5th and 32 seconds behind the Toyota of the nine-time world champion. Also noteworthy is the presence of Lancia in the top-10, with 10th place occupied by Nikolaj Gryazin.

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Rally of Portugal 2026, standings after SS10 (Top-10)

POS.DRIVERCARTIME/GAP
1Sébastien OgierToyota1:28:25.2
2Thierry NeuvilleHyundai+3.7
3Sami PajariToyota+15.2
4Oliver SolbergToyota+16.4
5Elfyn EvansToyota+32.5
6Adrien FourmauxHyundai+34.3
7Takamoto KatsutaToyota+50.1
8Dani SordoHyundai+1:23.3
9Joshua McErleanFord+2:20.7
10Nikolaj GryazinLancia (WRC2)+4:34.8

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