The WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal will feature seven former winners of the event in this year's edition. Sébastien Ogier has another chance to break his tie with Markku Alén for the all-time wins record in Portugal and Kalle Rovanperä is also chasing a record held by Miki Biasion...
The 57th edition of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal will feature seven drivers who have already won the Automóvel Club de Portugal event: Sébastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville, Kris Meeke and Armindo Araújo.
Of these, Ogier, the eight-time World Champion, arrives in Portugal motivated by his recent triumph in Croatia and with the ambition - never hidden - of achieving an unprecedented sixth victory on Portuguese soil. In 2017, Ogier equaled the five victories of the most Portuguese Finn ever, Markku Alén, but the French driver will once again have strong competition this year from within Toyota Gazoo Racing itself.
Rovanperä has also won this season, in the Safari Rally Kenya, and has won the last two editions of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, including a dominating display last year. If the two-time World Champion repeats the result this year, he will equal the only driver to win three times in a row in Portugal, Miki Biasion, who won with the Lancia Delta Integrale in 1988, 1989 and 1990. Names like Markku Alén, Hannu Mikkola, Colin McRae, Armindo Araújo and Sébastien Ogier have all won twice in a row in Portugal.
Several candidates
Elfyn Evans is another Toyota driver who wants to win again in Portugal, which means another intense battle within the Japanese team, which will be at full strength for the Portuguese round.
On the Hyundai Shell Mobis side, Thierry Neuville is the championship leader and will be looking to repeat his 2018 victory in Portugal, while Ott Tänak also wants to return to winning ways and emulate his 2019 victory on the Portuguese stages, the year he became World Champion with Toyota.
Kris Meeke (Hyundai) and Armindo Araújo (Skoda) are now at another stage in their careers, fighting for the victories in the Portuguese Rally Championship with the Rally2 cars. However, Portugal was the scene of one of Meeke's five WRC victories, in 2016, with Citroën, while Armindo Araújo won in 2003, 2004 and 2006, when Rally de Portugal was trying to return to the World Championship, which it did in 2007.