As one of the oldest rallies in WRC, Portugal represents not only a landmark event in the calendar, but the beginning of a gravel-dominant run (punctuated by Rally Japan later this month) that will shape the remainder of the season.
KEY EVENT STATS
Surface: Gravel
Base: Exponor - Porto International Fair
Stages: 23
Competitive Distance: 344.91 km
Total Distance: 1,874.58 km
WEEKEND FOCUS
The championship makes the switch back to gravel after the smooth tarmac of Gran Canaria's challenging stages, with often high temperatures placing significant pressure on crews and machinery alike.
Key strategy will focus on survival through the brutal conditions, particularly on Friday, where only a midday remote service is available, making setup decisions and mechanical reliability critical from the outset.
Mārtiņš Sesks rejoins the Rally1 line-up for the first time since Rally Sweden; after an impressive gravel performance in Saudi Arabia at the back end of last season, the Latvian returns with confidence and his sights set on a strong result and impactful comeback.
Alongside Sesks, Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean bring their Rally1 and previous Portugal experience to form a well-rounded and motivated driver lineup.
The team will field two Ford Fiesta Rally2 cars in the WRC2 category, piloted by Romet Jurgenson and Mille Johansson. With gravel as their preferred surface, both drivers will be targeting a strong impact across the category.
Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Principal, said: "I'm looking forward to returning to gravel, and Rally de Portugal is one of the most iconic events we compete on in the WRC. After seeing some good progress on tarmac, which we'll be able to put into good use in Japan later this month, it will be nice to switch our focus to gravel, which now represents the surface we'll be competing on for the remainder of the season.
"We will be welcoming Mārtiņš back to the team, and after his performance in Saudi Arabia at the back end of last season, I think a lot of people are looking forward to seeing what he has to bring for this summer run of gravel events. I think alongside Jon and Josh's experience in the Rally1 car, we have a really good team dynamic and I'm excited to see what we can achieve in Portugal this week."
CREW LINE-UP
FORD PUMA RALLY1
#55 / Josh McErlean & Eoin Treacy
Rally Islas Canarias 2026 result: 8th Overall
Rally de Portugal 2025 result: 8th Overall
Current championship position: 20th WRC
Josh McErlean said: "I'm excited to be back on gravel in Portugal - it's an event I've always enjoyed and have good memories from. The stages are tough and can get very rough, so it's about being smart, getting comfortable quickly and showing speed through the weekend. I can't wait to get going!"
#95 / Jon Armstrong & Shane Byrne
Rally Islas Canarias 2026 result: 11th Overall
Rally de Portugal 2022 result: 4th WRC3 Junior
Current championship position: 13th WRC
Jon Armstrong said: "Looking forward to the first proper gravel rally of the year. I've done the rally a couple of times in the past and it's always a big challenge; some rough action, some very soft sand, and I'm sure after our preparation that it'll be really fun with the Puma. Hopefully we can make use of a good start position to try and have a solid run."
#22 / Mārtiņš Sesks & Renārs Francis
Rally Sweden 2026 result: 35th Overall (11th RC1)
Rally de Portugal result 2025: 15th overall
2025 WRC Championship Result: 12th in Drivers’ and Co-driver’s championships
Mārtiņš Sesks said: "Last year's Portugal was quite a tough exam as it was a long and tricky rally. There were a lot of things we didn’t get right, and I think it will be interesting to see how we will do this year. Because this is one of the rallies I like quite a lot, it is very important to get things right. So yes, I guess it will be quite a long week again, one of the longest weeks of the season for me. This will be an interesting experience."
FORD FIESTA RALLY2
#35 / Romet Jürgenson & Siim Oja
Rally Islas Canarias 2026 result: 14th RC2
Rally de Portugal 2022 result: 11th WRC2
Current championship position: 29th WRC
Romet Jürgenson said: "It’ll be nice to be back on gravel in Portugal, which is a more natural surface for me. Even though in Portugal we don't have a huge amount of experience, obviously we did it last year so that at least gives us some patch notes to work on and use this year as well. We definitely want to do a step up in terms of performance compared to last year. We weren't really showing good pace there last year, so that's the aim; to step the game up and show some speed whenever possible."
#37 / Mille Johansson / Johan Grӧnvall
Croatia Rally 2026 result: 14th WRC2 Challenger
Rally de Portugal 2025 result: 2nd Junior WRC
Mille Johansson said: ”Portugal is going to be a big challenge with a lot of stages and changing grip levels, but I’m really looking forward to it. Feels good to finally be back on gravel again since Finland last year. The goal is to keep learning, stay consistent and build confidence from the start. We’ve had good preparation with the team, so now I just want to get out there and enjoy the rally.”
