MEDIA INFORMATION
For immediate release
Wednesday, May 14th, 2025
TOYOTA AND EVANS AIM TO DEFEND BIG WRC LEADS IN PORTUGAL
MATOSINHOS (PORTUGAL): A dozen Rally1 cars will take the start of the 58th Vodafone Rally of Portugal on Thursday evening. But main attention will focus on the battle for the WRC Drivers’ Championship and whether the Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT and the M-Sport Ford WRT can break the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT’s early season stranglehold on the championship.
Toyota has won the last five rallies in Portugal and the recent run of form in 2025 with four straight wins from the opening four rounds with three drivers suggests that this year could be no exception. The Toyotas will sport a new silver colour scheme this weekend to replace the black livery that has been used so far this season.
With the exception of Ott Tänak (2019), who made the switch to Hyundai, Elfyn Evans (2021), Kalle Rovanperä (2022 and 2023) and Sébastien Ogier (2024) are still with the Toyota team that heads to the start in Coimbra with a comfortable 51-point advantage in the WRC Manufacturers’ Championship.
Evans remains firmly on track for his first ever Drivers’ Championship after a strong start to his 2025 campaign. The Welshman picked up points for second place in Monte-Carlo, was dominant in Sweden, won the Safari and finished third in Gran Canaria. Those valuable points have given Evans and co-driver Scott Martin a 43-point lead in their respective championships.
Evans said|: “It has been a good start to the season but we’re entering a sequence of gravel event where, as championship leader, it can be challenging running first on the road on the Friday if it’s dry. My recent testing on gravel has been in the wet, so preparation has not been ideal. Portugal has some great stages that are fun to drive, even if road cleaning is a factor.”
Team-mate Rovanperā is his closest challenger after four rounds, although the two-time World Champion missed the Safari. The 24-year-old was in clinical form at the last round in Gran Canaria, however, and gave an inkling that he is returning to some consistent form.
“It felt good to win again in the Canaries after quite a while,” admitted the Finn. “On gravel, there’s always less grip and you’re sliding a lot more. With the different weight balance of the car and new tyres this year, I’m still looking for the happy place.”
Defending World Champion Thierry Neuville currently trails Evans by 50 points in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1. Disappointing results in Monte-Carlo and the Canaries sandwiched two strong performances in Sweden and Kenya, but the Belgian knows that he needs to try and repeat his outright 2018 success in Portugal.
The Belgian said: “Portugal is like any other gravel rally. You need to optimise your road position and try to manage the temperatures, especially on the first days in the Amarante area. The main challenge is the road conditions that can be abrasive and tyre wear can be an issue. We need to outscore Elfyn because he has a big lead in the championship.”
Like Rovanperā, eight-time World Champion Ogier is also tackling a part-time programme with Toyota. Despite missing both Sweden and Kenya, the Frenchman is fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, a mere point behind Neuville after a record-breaking 10th win in 17 years in Monte-Carlo and the runner-up spot in the Canaries.
“I was pretty happy with my own result in the Canaries,” said the record six-time Portugal winner Ogier. “Now we go back to gravel after a long time away for me, since Chile last October. A lot has changed in that time with the car and the tyres. I’ve always loved Portugal; it’s a rally with a unique atmosphere and a lot of fans.”
Tänak is a single point behind Ogier in fifth place in the second Hyundai in a tightly-bunched group of drivers chasing down Evans. The Estonian has scored consistently on each of the four rallies but his best result came with second place in Kenya.
The 2019 World Champion said: “Portugal is a huge event in so many ways. There are roads that I enjoy a lot and the history of the rally paired with the atmosphere we have every year is all you can ask for from an event. This is the fifth rally this year where we have new tyres and we need to get maximum out of it.”
Adrien Fourmaux is a distant sixth in the Drivers’ Championship in the third of the Hyundais after two disappointing results in Sweden and Kenya that followed a podium finish in Monte-Carlo.
“This event is a big challenge,” said the Frenchman. “The heat is demanding so managing the tyres is a big task. There are places on the rally where we need to be cautious, but you can still establish big gaps so it can be a sprint at times.”
Two retirements from four starts have ruined Takamoto Katuta’s early season challenge, although the Toyota Yaris driver showed with his pace in Sweden and the Canaries that he has the potential for another push for victory. The Rally Sweden runner-up said: “I enjoy the stages in Portugal a lot and they suit me pretty well. We’re still learning about the gravel tyres, so the test was important to find a good set-up for the rally.”
Young Finn Sami Pajari drives the fifth of the Yaris GR Rally1s in Portugal. A former winner of the Junior WRC category at the event, Pajari has endured two retirements so far this season and a best result of fourth in Kenya. He holds eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.
The M-Sport Ford WRT fields four Puma Rally1s for Grégoire Munster, Märtinš Sesks, Josh McErlean and local driver Diogo Salvi. Munster and Sesks currently hold ninth and 10th in the Drivers’ Championship, with the former’s fifth place in Kenya being the highlight of the season so far.
The team carried out a full day’s testing recently to find the balance between Hankook’s soft and hard compound tyres.
Munster will be aiming to build upon his Safari result, while McErlean has tackled the event on four previous occasions and was ninth overall last year in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
Munster said: “The whole team is clearly motivated to bounce back after Canarias, so I’m looking forward to a strong event. It’s typical to have two kinds of stages here—some with a softer surface, like in Fafe, and others that are rougher with a hard base. Portugal always feels like two events in one!”
Sesks returns to first team action for the first time since Sweden, although the Latvian has contested three rounds of the Portuguese Rally Championship with a Past Racing-run Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Sesks said: “I competed in Portugal once before, in 2021, in Junior WRC. I think some of the stages will be similar and I hope having some knowledge of them will help. Our goal remains to keep developing, stay consistent and stick to this approach throughout the season. We’re excited to see what we can achieve on gravel this year!”
Salvi, 55, teams up with Spanish co-driver Axel Coronado to crew the fourth of the M-Sport Ford Pumas. The telecom magnate’s best WRC result to date came at the 2018 Rally Turkey in Marmaris when he finished 18th overall and seventh in WRC2 with Hugo Magalhāes in a Škoda Fabia R5.
2025 FIA World Rally Championship – positions after round 4:
Drivers
- Elfyn Evans (GBR) 109pts
- Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) 66pts
- Thierry Neuville (BEL) 59pts
- Sébastien Ogier (FRA) 58pts
- Ott Tänak (EST) 57pts
- Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) 44pts
- Takamoto Katsuta (JPN) 39pts
- Sami Pajari (FIN) 19pts
- Grégoire Munster (BEL) 16pts
- Märtinš Sesks (LAT) 8pts, etc
2025 FIA Manufacturers’ Championship – positions after round 4:
- Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 208pts
- Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 157pts
- M-Sport Ford WRT 58pts
- Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 25pts
Ends