With a 2:46 advantage over Seth Quintero and 3:37 over Joao Ferreira at the end of five stages between Portugal and Spain, Sébastien Loeb won the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, accumulated 87 points in the W2RC standings, and became the new leader of the World Rally-Raid Championship, seven points ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Dakar winner arrived in Portugal as the favorite but suffered a mechanical failure in Stage 3 that eliminated him from the overall fight, leaving him with just five points collected throughout the week.

Loeb found his race in Stage 2

The 1,269 timed kilometers of the route between Portugal and Spain were run under intermittent rain that turned several sections into mud tracks and forced all teams to recalculate their race plans. Ferreira used his local knowledge to win the first special by 17 seconds over Quintero, and for the first 180 kilometers it seemed the Portuguese driver would set the pace for the week. But Loeb moved to the front in the second stage, winning by nine seconds over Botterill on a stretch that had already delivered results for him last year, and from there he never relinquished the overall lead.

Photo By A.S.O

Botterill, who was 53 seconds behind Loeb after Stage 2, lost pace in the third special and ended up dropping to fifth place overall, and this trend of narrow margins persisted among the top five throughout the week. Quintero maintained a consistent pace in second place but could not close the gap in any of the remaining specials. Ferreira recovered with a second stage win in Stage 4 and finished third, with Moraes fourth and Botterill fifth, separated by just over a minute.

Al-Attiyah scored five points where he expected 50

Al-Attiyah had accumulated seven wins in 12 stages contested in the previous two editions of the Rally-Raid Portugal, and was coming off a controlled Dakar performance where he chose when to attack and when to conserve. In Portugal, that level never appeared. He finished seventh in the first special, more than three minutes behind Ferreira, and a technical issue in Stage 3 took him out of the special and eliminated any real chance of fighting for the overall classification.

Al-Attiyah had 75 points and a comfortable advantage at the start of the week; he leaves Portugal with 80 and trails Loeb by seven. Quintero sits at 61 and Moraes at 53, both scoring consistently. The championship has three rounds remaining (Argentina, Morocco, and Abu Dhabi), and in a five-round season, leaving a race with practically zero points seriously complicates the math.

Photo By A.S.O

Ford withdrew five cars due to engine failures in Stage 1

All five Raptor T1+ cars present in the race suffered engine failures during the first special, including both factory M-Sport entries of Sainz and Ekström as well as the privateer entries of Prokop, Krotov, and Mateschitz. Sainz reported that his car stopped running at kilometer 123, and the team's response was radical. They withdrew the entire contingent and returned the cars to the factory to investigate the cause.

Photo By A.S.O

Just two months earlier, Ford had left the Dakar with Roma second, Ekström third, and Sainz fifth, the best collective result of any manufacturer in the final classification of that round. The Raptor had demonstrated enough speed to win stages and fight with Dacia and Toyota, but reliability had already raised red flags during the Dakar itself, where Krotov finished more than eight hours behind the winner and Prokop lost time with recurring mechanical issues. Portugal turned those signals into a full-program crisis. Ekström remains with 53 points in the championship with no chance to add more, and Sainz stays tenth with 28. The next round is the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina, from May 24th to 29th, and Ford needs to arrive with an engine that can withstand five stages. M-Sport confirmed in a statement that the cars have been returned to the factory for analysis and assured they are working to arrive in condition for Argentina.

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Dacia has three drivers in the top 5 of the championship

Loeb's victory in Portugal is his third in the W2RC, adding to the Andalucía Rally 2022 and the Rallye du Maroc 2025, and makes him the championship leader for the first time since the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2023. Dacia won three of the five specials during the week between Loeb and Moraes, who took Stage 3 with a 1:46 margin and scored enough points to climb to fifth in the championship with 53 units, tying Ekström.

Dacia leaves Portugal with Loeb first, Al-Attiyah second, and Moraes fifth in the drivers' standings, along with an extended advantage in the manufacturers' classification. Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC moved up to second in the constructors' standings ahead of Ford, driven by Quintero's second-place finish and the performances of Ferreira and Botterill. Quintero, with 61 points, is Toyota's best-placed driver to fight for the top spots in the individual standings.

Pinto won three consecutive stages in his Challenger debut

Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira, in a Taurus T3 Max from Old Friends Rally with technical support from Odyssey Academy by BBR, had moved up to Challenger from SSV and responded with three consecutive stage wins and the category's top spot in the overall classification. Pinto was ninth in the overall standings, 33:52 behind Loeb, and became the leader of the W2RC Challenger championship. Charles Munster was his closest rival in the category's overall standings.

Photo By A.S.O

With two stage wins and a third-place overall, Joao Ferreira scored 46 points that place him sixth in the individual championship and confirmed he has the pace to fight with factory teams on terrain he knows well, with three rounds remaining and not far from the fight for the top positions in the world championship.

Stéphane Peterhansel took the Stock category victory with Defender, with Baciuska second and Sara Price third; the three drivers from the British structure split stage wins throughout the week. In SSV, Joao Monteiro won with Can-Am and became the championship leader, followed by Miguel Barbosa with Polaris and Jeremías González Ferioli with Can-Am.

Photo By A.S.O

Argentina in May with Loeb in the lead

The championship reaches its third round with Loeb as leader and Al-Attiyah forced to respond on unfamiliar terrain for the Sandrider. Quintero is 26 points off the lead, and Ekström needs Ford to resolve the Raptor's reliability issues to avoid losing further ground. The Desafío Ruta 40 runs from May 24th to 29th, with two months of preparation for all teams.

Photo By A.S.O

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portuga 2026

Pos	Nº	Drivers	Clase	Team	Car	Time	Gap
1	#219	S. LOEB E. BOULANGER	Ultimate	THE DACIA SANDRIDERS	DACIA SANDRIDER	10:58:52	—
2	#203	S. QUINTERO A. SHORT	Ultimate	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING W2RC	TOYOTA HILUX GR	11:01:38	+0:02:46
3	#240	J. FERREIRA F. PALMEIRO	Ultimate	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING SA	TOYOTA HILUX GR	11:02:29	+0:03:37
4	#223	L. MORAES D. ZENZ	Ultimate	THE DACIA SANDRIDERS	DACIA SANDRIDER	11:03:28	+0:04:36
5	#218	G. BOTTERILL O. MENA	Ultimate	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING SA	TOYOTA HILUX GR	11:04:19	+0:05:27
6	#201	Y. AL RAJHI T. GOTTSCHALK	Ultimate	OVERDRIVE RACING	TOYOTA HILUX GR	11:10:47	+0:11:55
7	#205	E. GOCZAL S. GOSPODARCZYK	Ultimate	ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM	TOYOTA HILUX EVO	11:21:06	+0:22:14
8	#235	F. BARRETO P. FIÚZA	Ultimate	SVR	TOYOTA HILUX EVO	11:30:21	+0:31:29
9	#301	A. PINTO B. OLIVEIRA	Challenger	OLD FRIENDS RALLY TEAM	TAURUS T3 MAX	11:32:44	+0:33:52
10	#206	M. GOCZAL M. MARTON	Ultimate	ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM	TOYOTA HILUX EVO	11:36:48	+0:37:56
11	#308	C. MUNSTER X. PANSERI	Challenger	KTM X-BOW POWERED BY G RALLY TEAM	GRALLYTEAM G-ECKO	11:38:54	+0:40:02
12	#220	M. BAUMGART K. CINCEA	Ultimate	SVR	TOYOTA HILUX EVO	11:39:01	+0:40:09
13	#234	L. ALVAREZ B. GRAUE	Ultimate	SVR	TOYOTA HILUX EVO	11:39:46	+0:40:54
14	#406	M. BARBOSA J. LUTAS	SSV	BP ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TEAM	POLARIS RZR PRO R	11:43:12	+0:44:20
15	#401	J. MONTEIRO N. MORAIS	SSV	CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	11:45:13	+0:46:21
16	#500	S. PETERHANSEL M. METGE	Stock	DEFENDER RALLY	DEFENDER DAKAR D7X-R	11:57:33	+0:58:41
17	#502	R. BACIUSKA O. VIDAL	Stock	DEFENDER RALLY	DEFENDER DAKAR D7X-R	12:00:02	+1:01:10
18	#402	J. GONZALEZ FERIOLI G. RINALDI	SSV	CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM - LATAM	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	12:00:09	+1:01:17
19	#417	A. DELDOSSI J. TRICAUD	SSV	BTR	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	12:06:06	+1:07:14
20	#236	C. BAUMGART L. ECKEL	Ultimate	SVR	TOYOTA HILUX EVO	12:11:59	+1:13:07
21	#309	R. CARNEIRO F. MOTA	Challenger	RUI CARNEIRO	GRALLYTEAM G-ECKO	12:24:58	+1:26:06
22	#409	P. RODRIGUES J. MIRANDA	SSV	RIO SECO RACING	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	12:26:37	+1:27:45
23	#231	K. KOOLEN W. ROSEGAAR	Ultimate	RD LIMITED	FORD RAPTOR	12:28:39	+1:29:47
24	#306	P. GONÇALVES H. MAGALHÃES	Challenger	BBR MOTORSPORT	TAURUS T3 MAX	12:31:01	+1:32:09
25	#317	R. BRANCO J. SERÔDIO	Challenger	PALANCA MOTORSPORT	TAURUS T3 MAX	12:46:59	+1:48:07
26	#204	A. MIURA A. MONLEON	Ultimate	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING W2RC	TOYOTA HILUX GR	12:47:10	+1:48:18
27	#412	J. NOGUEIRA A. COUTO	SSV	OLD FRIENDS RALLY TEAM	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	12:52:20	+1:53:28
28	#316	P. LONYAI O. FLOENE	Challenger	G RALLY TEAM	GRALLYTEAM G-ECKO	12:55:26	+1:56:34
29	#302	P. KLAASSEN A. SANZ	Challenger	KTM X-BOW POWERED BY G RALLY TEAM	GRALLYTEAM G-ECKO	12:58:57	+2:00:05
30	#504	S. PRICE S. BERRIMAN	Stock	DEFENDER RALLY	DEFENDER DAKAR D7X-R	13:09:58	+2:11:06
31	#239	S. ROTSAERT E. DEWITTE	Ultimate	DAKLAPACK RALLYSPORT	RED-LINED REVO +	13:25:52	+2:27:00
32	#405	M. SIDABRAS E. CESOKAS	SSV	IZOTON SPORT	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	13:44:25	+2:45:33
33	#210	H. GARCÉS J. LATRACH	Ultimate	OVERDRIVE RACING	TOYOTA HILUX GR	13:47:10	+2:48:18
34	#410	J. PIFERRER X. BLANCO	SSV	BUGGY MASTERS TEAM	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	13:57:20	+2:58:28
35	#310	M. VAN DEN BRINK B. VAN HEUN	Challenger	DAKLAPACK RALLYSPORT	TAURUS T3 MAX	14:36:12	+3:37:20
36	#241	S. HEYVAERT D. BERGHMANS	Ultimate	DAVE BERGHMANS	NISSAN RED-LINED VK56	16:52:08	+5:53:16
37	#214	L. SANZ M. GERINI	Ultimate	EBRO AUDAX MOTORSPORT	EBRO S800 XRR	23:20:58	+12:22:06
38	#407	R. RODRIGUES R. PAULO	SSV	RIO SECO RACING	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	23:43:00	+12:44:08
39	#299	N. AL-ATTIYAH F. LURQUIN	Ultimate	THE DACIA SANDRIDERS	DACIA SANDRIDER	29:17:55	+18:19:03
40	#238	M. GASTALDI C. SACHS	Ultimate	SVR	TOYOTA HILUX EVO	29:52:51	+18:53:59
41	#305	P. SPIERINGS M. SALOMONS	Challenger	REBELLION SPIERINGS	TAURUS EVO MAX	30:05:02	+19:06:10
42	#415	B. OLIVEIRA J. SÁ PIRES	SSV	FORD TRUCKS	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	30:29:07	+19:30:15
43	#230	M. ZAPLETAL M. SYKORA	Ultimate	OFFROADSPORT	FORD F150 EVO	31:03:00	+20:04:08
44	#311	R. PORÉM N. SOUSA	Challenger	KAIZEN FACTORY TEAM	KAIZEN S1	31:07:15	+20:08:23
45	#211	M. SERRADORI L. MINAUDIER	Ultimate	CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM	CENTURY CR7	32:21:31	+21:22:39
46	#414	J. GAYOSO S. RAMIRO	SSV	JOSÉ GAYOSO	POLARIS RZR PRO R	33:34:54	+22:36:02
47	#403	L. CIDADE V. CARDOSO	SSV	SOUTH RACING CAN-AM	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	34:06:56	+23:08:04
48	#413	F. LOPES G. REIS	SSV	RIO SECO RACING	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK R	35:21:15	+24:22:23
49	#314	M. PEREIRA E. ADÃO	Challenger	METALMARINHA RACING TEAM	BRP CAN-AM MAVERICK X3	35:45:02	+24:46:10