Jan Solans got the edge over Josh McErlean on Sunday, claiming his first WRC2 victory at the Rally de Portugal. Co-driven by Rodrigo Sanjuan, the Spaniard led the standings by 8 seconds as Sunday’s final leg commenced. However, McErlean won the first two stages of the day, taking a 0.1-second lead.
In the penultimate test at Cabeceiras de Basto, Solans trounced McErlean by 6.5 seconds, a feat which ultimately proved decisive in securing him the victory. Despite McErlean’s best efforts, the Škoda Fabia driver could only reduce the gap to 3.2 seconds in the Fafe finale.
This victory is the first for Solans at this level and also the first for the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, launched this year. "It’s incredible," Solans commented. "My first win and also the first for the Toyota Rally2. It’s been an incredible weekend and I want to thank all the sponsors for this opportunity."
Yohan Rossel looked set to finish on the podium despite stopping to change a wheel on Saturday. However, the Citroën C3 driver fell to fifth place behind Laura Joona and Fabrizio Zaldivar after incurring two one-minute time penalties: one for a safety breach and another for booking out of parc fermé early.
Despite Rossel’s frustrations, non-finishes for title contenders Oliver Solberg and Gus Greensmith allowed him to increase his lead in the championship standings by 12 points. Solans also scored maximum points in WRC2 Challenger while Jean Michel Raoux won the WRC Masters Cup.
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