ALTAS ROTAÇÕES - Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville secure fantastic first win of the season

Sunday, 10 May 2026 21:15

Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville secure fantastic first win of the season

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Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville secure fantastic first win of the season

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team’s Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe have taken victory on a dramatic final day of Rally de Portugal, which saw the crew take the lead on the penultimate stage of the weekend.

The result marks redemption for the Neuville and Wydaeghe following their near-win in Croatia four weeks ago, where the crew lost a deserved victory on the final stage. It is Hyundai Motorsport’s 35th win in the FIA WRC.

Rally de Portugal was a rally of two halves; Thursday and Friday featured dry conditions on the technical gravel stages, but the arrival of rain on Saturday and Sunday brought unpredictability to proceedings.

Neuville and Wydaeghe were within touching distance of the provisional podium after Thursday’s three stages. Although they briefly sat in sixth on Friday morning, they quickly recovered to second by the end of the day. They stayed in touch on the muddy and slippery stages on Saturday and headed into Sunday 21.9 seconds off the lead. A measured approach on Sunday was rewarded when rally leader Sébastien Ogier collected a puncture on SS22, enabling the Belgians to take first place. Neuville and Wydaeghe ended their weekend with a flourish on the Power Stage, narrowly losing out on the fastest time to team-mate Adrien Fourmaux.

Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria made a strong start to the event, taking the first stage win of the rally and finishing Thursday in second overall. They stormed into the lead of the rally on Friday, but a double puncture on SS8 Góis brought their victory charge to an end. The Frenchmen worked hard to maintain sixth place on Saturday, scoring two stage victories along the way. Super Sunday brought another stage win on an eventful SS22, which saw Fourmaux and Coria promoted to fourth as two Toyota crews hit trouble. A committed final run through the Power Stage confirmed their fifth stage win of the weekend, and third position in the Super Sunday standings.

Spanish Hyundai Motorsport crew Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera had a difficult outing in Portugal. Despite a promising start on SS1, on which they were in the top four, Sordo and Carrera fell to eighth by the end of Thursday. They struggled to unlock pace from the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 across the remaining stages, and suffered a transmission issue on Saturday morning, but they did the job required of them, supported the team, and managed the conditions to bring their car home safely on Sunday.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Neuville’s 23rd win and first victory for Belgians since Rally Saudi Arabia

Crew scored 30 points, including four for the Power Stage and one for Super Sunday

Neuville said: “What a weekend! It has been crazy out there, and we have faced all kinds of conditions and emotions, but we have been consistent, fighting with the fastest on every stage, never really losing a lot of time. I think that is what gave us the final victory, as well as making no mistakes. We know the rally is never over until it’s over; the stress was very high on the last stage, but we made it. This win feels very special; as a team, we have been chasing this result for a while, and haven’t been rewarded, and I let the team down in Croatia. We needed to fight back, and the rally gods were with us this weekend. I’m very happy to bring home the first victory of the year for the team.”

Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

French crew finish in a fine fourth overall with five fastest times, including the Power Stage

Fourmaux now lies fourth in the drivers’ standings

Fourmaux said: “It has been a very positive weekend for the team here in Portugal, so we can be pleased to score 20 points as a crew and that Thierry and Martijn have taken the win. It’s a great result for the whole team, and with all the preparation we have done recently, I am pleased we are now enjoying some nice success. I’d like to say thank you to the team, and also thank you to the fans. It has been fantastic to see you all out in force even in the rain. Overall, it’s been a very challenging rally – but I think that’s why we love it.”

Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Difficult event for Sordo and Carrera on return to Portuguese gravel

Crew finish in eighth overall

Sordo said: “I have to admit we are not very happy with our performance here in Portugal. It was a difficult rally with the weather, which made the conditions very slippery, and I didn’t feel good in the car. However, I am delighted for the team – everyone really deserves this victory, especially after what happened in Croatia, so very happy for this.”

Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said: “This is a fantastic result for everyone in the team, for all of the hard work that has been done back at base, on event, during the recce and with the test team – every single person that has been involved in the WRC programme since the start of this season has made an incredible effort, and that has been rewarded today. Thierry and Martijn gave a really controlled performance throughout a very long week and they truly deserve the success they have achieved today. It is a true team effort, including Adrien and Alex who capitalised on a fantastic weekend with five fastest times, including on the Power Stage, and also Dani and Candido who did a good job to support the team. We also have to say thanks to every Portuguese fan that came out on the stages to support the team in this incredible weather. This is an event that will be remembered for a very long time and hopefully it is the start of more as we head towards the second half of the season.”

Next rally

Rally Japan marks the halfway point of the 2026 FIA WRC season, with the tarmac event set to take place May 28-31