Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will take on the Rally de Portugal this week 9-12 May with a strong line-up of four crews ready to continue the team’s run of success on the popular gravel event.
For the first time this season, the team will be able to count on both of its world champion drivers, Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier, winners of the last two rounds in Kenya and Croatia respectively. Rovanperä is aiming to win in Portugal for the third year in succession, while Ogier is a five-time winner of the event – sharing the record for the most victories with Markku Alén.
Welshman Elfyn Evans (below) is also a previous winner in Portugal: his victory in 2021 is one of four consecutive wins by TGR-WRT there since 2019. Evans is currently just six points from the lead of the drivers’ championship after a consistent start to his campaign, with three podium finishes from four events.
He said, “We’re into a busy part of the season now with rallies coming thick and fast, and our focus moves back to gravel . Portugal can be quite a nice rally with some fast and flowing sections, but recently it’s become more of a challenge in terms of how rough the roads can get, especially in some of the classic stages further south that we drive on Friday.
“As always on gravel, road position could be a factor but it’s also a rally that can be affected by the weather. We just have to focus on doing the best job we can with the conditions we have and try to take the maximum from the weekend.”
While the team have nominated the three previous Portugal winners to contribute towards the manufacturers’ championship, which it currently leads by seven points, Takamoto Katsuta will also be aiming high on an event he has performed strongly on in the past.
Portugal will be the first of seven consecutive rallies on gravel. The event is based in the north of the country around Porto, with the service park located in nearby Matosinhos. The stages are fast but technical, with a surface that is usually soft and sandy at first but often becomes rocky and rutted for the second pass.
The route is similar to previous years, with the rally start to the south around the historic city of Coimbra. This year, the competitive action begins on Thursday night with the Figueira da Foz super special . Friday has added stage kilometres with the Mortágua test to be run at both the start and end of the day. It’s one of four stages to be driven twice around Arganil, which hosts a mid-day tyre fitting zone.
Saturday is the longest day of the rally, featuring 90 competitive miles. A repeated loop of four stages in the Cabreira mountains to the north-east of Porto includes the returning Montim and Amarante, the longest stage of the season so far at 23 miles. Another super special stage at the Lousada rallycross circuit runs in the evening. Sunday features two passes of Cabeceiras de Basto and the famous Fafe, which serves as the rally-ending Power Stage.