Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team return to gravel action on Rally Portugal this week (7-10 May), aiming to continue their unbeaten run in 2026.
The team have won all five FIA World Rally Championship events so far this season, including most recently a 1-2-3-4 finish on the asphalt roads of the Rally Islas Canarias. This result extended their lead in the manufacturers’ championship to 98 points.
Portuguese gravel offers a very different challenge but has been successful terrain for the team, who have won the last six editions of the event.
Elfyn Evans is among the team’s previous winners – having triumphed in 2021 – and currently leads the drivers’ championship by two points over team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, who has also performed strongly in Portugal in the past. Sami Pajari is third in the standings, 29 points from the lead, after taking four consecutive podium finishes, with Oliver Solberg four points further back in fourth. Solberg was a winner in Portugal in the WRC2 category in 2025 driving the GR Yaris Rally2.
Sébastien Ogier, who sits sixth in the standings after scoring the first win of his partial 2026 campaign in the Canaries, holds the record for the number of WRC wins in Portugal at seven, following victories in the past two years.
TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto will be one of 11 at the wheel of GR Yaris Rally2 cars in a bumper field of 45 Rally2 entries. Roope Korhonen leads the WRC2 entry list among GR Yaris Rally2 drivers, which also features proven category winners Gus Greensmith, Teemu Suninen and Alejandro Cachón, while multiple Australian champion Harry Bates contests his first European WRC round, joining French duo Eliott Delecour and Adrien Mosca and Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke in the class. Portuguese pair Rúben Rodrigues and Pedro Almeida also enter their home event in GR Yaris Rally2 cars. Another member of the TGR WRC Challenge Program, co-driver Tomiya Maekawa, will compete alongside Jarkko Nikara in the WRC3 category.
A founding round of the WRC, the Rally de Portugal is based in the north of the country around the second-largest city of Porto, with the service park located in nearby Matosinhos. Large crowds of passionate fans line the stages, which are fast but technical in nature, with a surface that starts out soft and sandy but often becomes rocky and rutted come the second pass.
The action begins earlier this year with shakedown staged on Wednesday afternoon before the rally starts once more from the historic central city of Coimbra on Thursday. Two gravel stages north of the city near Aveiro are run already that afternoon, before an evening super special on the streets of Figueira da Foz. Friday as usual is centred around Arganil, which hosts a mid-day remote service, with a total of seven stages to be driven in the area. Saturday is the longest day of the rally, featuring two loops of four stages north-east of Porto plus another super special at the Lousada rallycross circuit. The classic Vieira do Minho test moves to Sunday to be paired with the famous Fafe, the second pass of which serves as the rally-ending Power Stage.
Team quotes
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal): “Portugal is a rally we always look forward to. The people there are passionate about rallying and the history of the sport, and it has been a strong event for our team recently. The roads are enjoyable to drive, but they can also get quite rough and challenging for the cars and the tyres. We know too that the road cleaning effect can be strong, and we will have four of our guys running at the front through Thursday and Friday. Elfyn is of course quite used to opening the road, but for Taka, Sami and Oliver it’s a new challenge to adapt to. Seb, on the other hand, is running a little bit further back, and he has been more successful on this rally than anybody else.”
Elfyn Evans (driver car 33): “We took a good haul of points away from the end of Rally Islas Canarias which was positive for the championship, even if it does mean we need to open the road again in Portugal this year. Usually it’s an event where the road position is a factor, but we’ve run first there a few times now over recent years, so it’s nothing we’re not used to or prepared for. We also know that the weather can be changeable, as it was for our pre-event test this week. Regardless of the conditions, we will just focus on trying to do the best job we can and scoring good points.”
Sébastien Ogier (driver car 1): “It was a great feeling to win in the Canaries and a result like that is always bringing a bit of extra confidence for the next rally. Portugal has been a special place in my career and it’s always a rally that I enjoy. The fans create a really nice atmosphere and it will be a pleasure to go back there. We have enjoyed a great record on this event and the target will of course be to try to carry on the winning run we have there. Our road position could be beneficial, but this is a rally where you can never be certain about the conditions and we have also had to deal with heavy rain there before.”
Oliver Solberg (driver car 99): “The last rally didn’t end the way that we wanted it to but we just need to try to take the positives forward on to Portugal. It’s a great event with a cool atmosphere and so many passionate fans, so it’s one I always look forward to. We had a great run last year with the Rally2 car, but this will be the first time I’ve done this kind of rough European gravel rally with the Rally1 car. There will be some more learning to do, but hopefully we can continue the great feeling and great speed we’ve had so far this season and finish with a good solid result.”
Takamoto Katsuta (driver car 18): “Portugal is a rally I really like: the atmosphere is always amazing, the stages suit me quite well and we’ve had some good results there in the past. This year, I think it’s going to be a very tough event as well. Even though I will not be running first on the road this time, to be second can still be quite tricky, and this year’s route could be quite demanding in this respect, with proper gravel stages already on Thursday as well as Friday. Depending on the weather, it may not be an easy rally, but I will try my best like always to get a good result.”
Sami Pajari (driver car 5): “I’m looking forward to being back on gravel in Portugal: it feels a long time since we had a traditional gravel rally like this – not considering Kenya or Saudi Arabia which were more extreme and specialised. For the first time, we will be running near the front of the road on gravel, but I can’t complain too much, because I’m happy to be in the fight and I’m not the only one who may suffer. There will be some strong drivers starting behind us – like Seb for example – who could be tough to beat, but I’m hoping we can continue the strong run we’re on.”
ENDS
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The team have won all five FIA World Rally Championship events so far this season, including most recently a 1-2-3-4 finish on the asphalt roads of the Rally Islas Canarias. This result extended their lead in the manufacturers’ championship to 98 points.
Portuguese gravel offers a very different challenge but has been successful terrain for the team, who have won the last six editions of the event.
Elfyn Evans is among the team’s previous winners – having triumphed in 2021 – and currently leads the drivers’ championship by two points over team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, who has also performed strongly in Portugal in the past. Sami Pajari is third in the standings, 29 points from the lead, after taking four consecutive podium finishes, with Oliver Solberg four points further back in fourth. Solberg was a winner in Portugal in the WRC2 category in 2025 driving the GR Yaris Rally2.
Sébastien Ogier, who sits sixth in the standings after scoring the first win of his partial 2026 campaign in the Canaries, holds the record for the number of WRC wins in Portugal at seven, following victories in the past two years.
TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto will be one of 11 at the wheel of GR Yaris Rally2 cars in a bumper field of 45 Rally2 entries. Roope Korhonen leads the WRC2 entry list among GR Yaris Rally2 drivers, which also features proven category winners Gus Greensmith, Teemu Suninen and Alejandro Cachón, while multiple Australian champion Harry Bates contests his first European WRC round, joining French duo Eliott Delecour and Adrien Mosca and Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke in the class. Portuguese pair Rúben Rodrigues and Pedro Almeida also enter their home event in GR Yaris Rally2 cars. Another member of the TGR WRC Challenge Program, co-driver Tomiya Maekawa, will compete alongside Jarkko Nikara in the WRC3 category.
A founding round of the WRC, the Rally de Portugal is based in the north of the country around the second-largest city of Porto, with the service park located in nearby Matosinhos. Large crowds of passionate fans line the stages, which are fast but technical in nature, with a surface that starts out soft and sandy but often becomes rocky and rutted come the second pass.
The action begins earlier this year with shakedown staged on Wednesday afternoon before the rally starts once more from the historic central city of Coimbra on Thursday. Two gravel stages north of the city near Aveiro are run already that afternoon, before an evening super special on the streets of Figueira da Foz. Friday as usual is centred around Arganil, which hosts a mid-day remote service, with a total of seven stages to be driven in the area. Saturday is the longest day of the rally, featuring two loops of four stages north-east of Porto plus another super special at the Lousada rallycross circuit. The classic Vieira do Minho test moves to Sunday to be paired with the famous Fafe, the second pass of which serves as the rally-ending Power Stage.
Team quotes
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal): “Portugal is a rally we always look forward to. The people there are passionate about rallying and the history of the sport, and it has been a strong event for our team recently. The roads are enjoyable to drive, but they can also get quite rough and challenging for the cars and the tyres. We know too that the road cleaning effect can be strong, and we will have four of our guys running at the front through Thursday and Friday. Elfyn is of course quite used to opening the road, but for Taka, Sami and Oliver it’s a new challenge to adapt to. Seb, on the other hand, is running a little bit further back, and he has been more successful on this rally than anybody else.”
Elfyn Evans (driver car 33): “We took a good haul of points away from the end of Rally Islas Canarias which was positive for the championship, even if it does mean we need to open the road again in Portugal this year. Usually it’s an event where the road position is a factor, but we’ve run first there a few times now over recent years, so it’s nothing we’re not used to or prepared for. We also know that the weather can be changeable, as it was for our pre-event test this week. Regardless of the conditions, we will just focus on trying to do the best job we can and scoring good points.”
Sébastien Ogier (driver car 1): “It was a great feeling to win in the Canaries and a result like that is always bringing a bit of extra confidence for the next rally. Portugal has been a special place in my career and it’s always a rally that I enjoy. The fans create a really nice atmosphere and it will be a pleasure to go back there. We have enjoyed a great record on this event and the target will of course be to try to carry on the winning run we have there. Our road position could be beneficial, but this is a rally where you can never be certain about the conditions and we have also had to deal with heavy rain there before.”
Oliver Solberg (driver car 99): “The last rally didn’t end the way that we wanted it to but we just need to try to take the positives forward on to Portugal. It’s a great event with a cool atmosphere and so many passionate fans, so it’s one I always look forward to. We had a great run last year with the Rally2 car, but this will be the first time I’ve done this kind of rough European gravel rally with the Rally1 car. There will be some more learning to do, but hopefully we can continue the great feeling and great speed we’ve had so far this season and finish with a good solid result.”
Takamoto Katsuta (driver car 18): “Portugal is a rally I really like: the atmosphere is always amazing, the stages suit me quite well and we’ve had some good results there in the past. This year, I think it’s going to be a very tough event as well. Even though I will not be running first on the road this time, to be second can still be quite tricky, and this year’s route could be quite demanding in this respect, with proper gravel stages already on Thursday as well as Friday. Depending on the weather, it may not be an easy rally, but I will try my best like always to get a good result.”
Sami Pajari (driver car 5): “I’m looking forward to being back on gravel in Portugal: it feels a long time since we had a traditional gravel rally like this – not considering Kenya or Saudi Arabia which were more extreme and specialised. For the first time, we will be running near the front of the road on gravel, but I can’t complain too much, because I’m happy to be in the fight and I’m not the only one who may suffer. There will be some strong drivers starting behind us – like Seb for example – who could be tough to beat, but I’m hoping we can continue the strong run we’re on.”
ENDS
The post Rally de Portugal: TGR-WRT ready for gravel classic appeared first on Toyota Media Site.
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