# 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, and large crowds lined the stages.
Jari-Matti Latvala won the Rally de Portugal for the first time, taking his first victory of the 2015 season.

## 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)

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

### 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 |