2015 Rally de Portugal

The 2015 Rally de Portugal was the fifth round of the 2015 World Rally Championship season. For the first time since 2001, the Rally de Portugal returned to the north of Portugal, returning to the stage sections that earned the rally the world's best award 6 times,[1] and large crowds lined the stages.[2]

2015 Rally de Portugal
49º Rally de Portugal
Round 5 of the 2015 World Rally Championship season
 Previous eventNext event 
Host country Portugal
Rally baseMatosinhos, Portugal
Dates run21 24 May 2015
Stages16 (351.71 km; 218.54 miles)
Stage surfaceGravel
Overall distance1,529.43 km (950.34 miles)
Results
Overall winner Jari-Matti Latvala
Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Motorsport
Crews94 at start, 64 at finish

Jari-Matti Latvala won the Rally de Portugal for the first time, taking his first victory of the 2015 season.[3]

Entry list

Notable entrants
No. Entrant Class Driver Co-driver Car Tyre
1 Volkswagen Motorsport WRC Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC M
2 Volkswagen Motorsport WRC Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC M
3 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT WRC Kris Meeke Paul Nagle Citroën DS3 WRC M
4 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT WRC Mads Østberg Jonas Andersson Citroën DS3 WRC M
5 M-Sport Ltd WRC Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta RS WRC M
6 M-Sport Ltd WRC Ott Tänak Raigo Mőlder Ford Fiesta RS WRC M
7 Hyundai Motorsport WRC Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 WRC M
8 Hyundai Motorsport WRC Dani Sordo Marc Martí Hyundai i20 WRC M
9 Volkswagen Motorsport II WRC Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Volkswagen Polo R WRC M
12 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT WRC Khalid Al Qassimi Chris Patterson Citroën DS3 WRC M
14 RK World Rally Team WRC Robert Kubica Maciej Szczepaniak Ford Fiesta RS WRC M
16 Henning Solberg WRC Henning Solberg Ilka Minor Ford Fiesta RS WRC M
20 Hyundai Motorsport N WRC Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai i20 WRC M
21 Jipocar Czech National Team WRC Martin Prokop Michal Ernst Ford Fiesta RS WRC P
31 Yazeed Racing WRC-2 Yazeed Al-Rajhi Michael Orr Ford Fiesta RRC M
32 PH Sport WRC-2 Stéphane Lefebvre Stéphane Prévot Citroën DS3 R5 M
33 www.Rallyproject.com srl WRC-2 Massimiliano Rendina Mario Pizzuti Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X P
34 Quentin Giordano WRC-2 Quentin Giordano Valentin Sarreaud Citroën DS3 R5 M
36 Karl Kruuda WRC-2 Karl Kruuda Martin Järveoja Citroën DS3 R5 M
37 FWRT s.r.l. WRC Lorenzo Bertelli Giovanni Bernacchini Ford Fiesta RS WRC P
38 Enrico Brazzoli WRC-2 Enrico Brazzoli Maurizio Barone Subaru Impreza WRX STi H
39 Saintéloc Junior Team WRC-2 Craig Breen Scott Martin Peugeot 208 T16 R5 M
40 Drive Dmack WRC-2 Jari Ketomaa Kaj Lindström Ford Fiesta R5 D
41 Drive Dmack WRC-2 Nicolás Fuchs Fernando Mussano Ford Fiesta R5 D
42 Nasser Al-Attiyah WRC-2 Nasser Al-Attiyah Matthieu Baumel Ford Fiesta RRC M
45 TAIF Rally Team WRC-2 Radik Shaymiev Maxim Tsvetkov Ford Fiesta R5 M
45 Gianluca Linari WRC-2 Gianluca Linari Nicola Arena Subaru Impreza STi N15 P
51 Napoca Rally Academy WRC-2 Simone Tempestini Matteo Chiarcossi Subaru Impreza STi N14 P
52 Diego Domínguez WRC-2 Diego Domínguez Edgardo Galindo Ford Fiesta R5 D
54 Didier Arias WRC-2 Didier Arias Héctor Núñez Ford Fiesta R5 D
75 Youth & Sports Qatar Rally Team WRC-2 Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Marshall Clarke Ford Fiesta RRC M
Icon Class
WRC WRC entries eligible to
score manufacturer points
WRC WRC entries ineligible to
score manufacturer points
WRC-2 Registered to take part in
WRC-2 championship

Report

The race began with the return of the mythical super special stage at Lousada rallycross track, with 15,000 spectators attending. As in the shakedown, Andreas Mikkelsen was the fastest, followed by Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. Robert Kubica took the all-new Ford Fiesta RS WRC – as premiered by M-Sport – to 4th place.

On the second day of the event, the rally moved to the Minho Province, with the section of Caminha proving to be quite hard, causing several dropouts and mechanical breakdowns. Ogier, as championship leader, was first into the stages and suffered a flat tyre on the second stage and finished the day in 2nd overall. At the end of the fifth stage, Latvala was the leader by 11.1 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke, with Mikkelsen 16 seconds down in third. Dani Sordo, winner of the first stage of the day, was only 5th.

On Saturday, Ogier regained some time, winning all three afternoon stages and finished the day in 2nd place, 9.5 seconds behind the leader, Latvala. Meeke won two of the stages and was 3rd, 20 seconds behind Latvala. Mikkelsen – the day's other stage winner – was fourth, trailing Meeke by 1.1 seconds. Elfyn Evans retired after the day's first stage with electrical problems in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, while Tanak and Sordo – already at more than a minute behind the lead – were out of the fight for a podium finish. Neuville overturned and Ostberg suffered engine problems in his Citroën.

On Sunday, three stages remained; two runs of the Fafe stage – the second being the power stage – with one pass through the Vieira do Minho. On the first pass of Fafe, and the benefit of a better road position, Ogier gained 1.7 seconds on Latvala. Latvala recovered the time loss and increased the advantage to 10.4 seconds, while Mikkelsen moved ahead of Meeke into a podium position. In the decisive power-stage, Ogier recovered 2.2 seconds on Latvala, and as a result, Latvala won the event by 8.2 seconds.

Results

Event standings (top-10)

[4]

Pos. No. Driver Co-driver Team Car Class Time Difference Points
Overall classification
1 2 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 3:30:35.3 28
2 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 3:30:43.5 +8.2 21
3 9 Andreas Mikkelsen Mikko Markkula Volkswagen Motorsport II Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 3:31:03.9 +28.6 16
4 3 Kris Meeke Paul Nagle Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroën DS3 WRC WRC 3:31:24.0 +48.7 12
5 6 Ott Tänak Raigo Mõlder M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 3:32:32.1 +1:56.8 10
6 8 Dani Sordo Marc Martí Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC WRC 3:33:03.2 +2:27.9 8
7 4 Mads Østberg Jonas Andersson Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroën DS3 WRC WRC 3:33:07.5 +2:32.2 6
8 20 Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai Shell World Rally Team Hyundai i20 WRC WRC 3:33:29.6 +2:54.3 4
9 14 Robert Kubica Maciej Szczepaniak RK M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 3:35:14.4 +4:39.1 2
10 21 Martin Prokop Jan Tománek Jipocar Czech National Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 3:38:06.5 +7:31.2 1

Special stages

Day Stage Name Length Winner Car Time Rally leader
Leg 1
(21–22 May)
SS1 SSS Lousada 3.36 km Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2:41.1 Andreas Mikkelsen
SS2 Ponte de Lima 1 27.53 km Dani Sordo Hyundai i20 WRC 19:41.5 Dani Sordo
SS3 Caminha 1 18.05 km Mads Østberg Citroën DS3 WRC 10:48.9 Andreas Mikkelsen
SS4 Viana do Castelo 1 18.73 km Jari-Matti Latvala Volkswagen Polo R WRC 11:38.3 Jari-Matti Latvala
SS5 Ponte de Lima 2 27.53 km Stage cancelled
SS6 Caminha 2 18.05 km Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 10:49.6
SS7 Viana do Castelo 2 18.73 km Jari-Matti Latvala Volkswagen Polo R WRC 11:30.1
Leg 2
(23 May)
SS8 Baião 1 18.57 km Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen Polo R WRC 11:48.3
SS9 Marão 1 26.30 km Kris Meeke Citroën DS3 WRC 17:11.1
SS10 Fridão 1 37.67 km Kris Meeke Citroën DS3 WRC 25:40.5
SS11 Baião 2 18.57 km Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 11:43.0
SS12 Marão 2 26.30 km Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 16:58.7
SS13 Fridão 2 37.67 km Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 25:17.9
Leg 3
(24 May)
SS14 Fafe 1 11.15 km Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:49.8
SS15 Vieira do Minho 32.35 km Jari-Matti Latvala Volkswagen Polo R WRC 20:38.7
SS16 Fafe 2 (Power Stage) 11.15 km Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:43.0

Power Stage

The "Power stage" was a 11.15 km (6.93 mi) stage at the end of the rally.

Pos Driver Car Time Diff. Pts
1 Sébastien Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:43.0 0.0 3
2 Jari-Matti Latvala Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:45.2 +2.2 2
3 Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen Polo R WRC 6:47.0 +4.0 1

References

  1. Figueiredo, João Tiago (22 May 2015). "O que não pode perder no regresso do "melhor Rali do mundo"". Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). A Media Capital Digital, S.A. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. "Obrigado aos dois milhões de espectadores" [Thanks to two million spectators]. iol.pt (in Portuguese). A Media Capital Digital, S.A. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. "Latvala ends barren run with Portugal win". World Rally Championship. WRC Promoter GmbH. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  4. "49. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2015". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.


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