Solberg takes early Thursday lead at WRC Rally Portugal

Toyota’s Oliver Solberg has taken the overall lead after Thursday’s three stages opened up the World Rally Championship’s Rally Portugal. 

Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool

Toyota’s young Swede took the overnight lead of Rally de Portugal on Thursday night after pipping Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux to the top spot. Three stages lined up the opening day of the event, finishing off with a super special stage, Figueria da Foz. 

Fourmaux took the top honours on the first, 15km stage, Águeda / Sever, with Toyota’s championship leader, Elfyn Evans and Solberg a maximum of two-tenths behind. 

However, the Frenchman lost the lead to Solberg on the following 20.2km test: Sever / Albergaria. 

By the end of the day, Solberg headed the rally leaderboard by 3.4 seconds, ahead of Fourmaux, whilst Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier rounded out the top three. 

Friday’s action kicks off the first full day of running with a steady 14km test, igniting the morning’s action at 7:35am local. 

WRC 2026 Rally de Portugal: The full WRC stage guide and times

WRC leaderboard:

1. Oliver Solberg, Toyota – 28m 0.00s 
2. Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai +3.4s
3. Sebastien Ogier, Toyota +7.2s
4. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +7.4s
5. Elfyn Evans, Toyota +7.5s
6. Sami Pajari, Toyota +10.7s
7. Dani Sordo, Hyundai +11.7s
8. Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota +15.9s
9. Joshua McErlean, Ford +23.4s
10. Jon Armstrong, Ford +24.8s
11. Martins Sesks, Ford +24.9s

Read more WRC here:

• WRC 2026 Rally de Portugal: The full WRC stage guide and times
• Rally de Portugal Weather 2026: Full WRC Weekend Forecast
• Oliver Solberg rues optimistic performance after Rally Islas Canarias crash
• Final Results: Who finished where at the WRC Rally Islas Canarias
• Sebastien Ogier secures first win of 2026 at WRC Rally Islas Canarias
• Solberg heartbreak as Swede stops whilst Ogier leads Rally Islas Canarias

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from ApexMotorsports.co.uk!

You can also support us on Patreon or our website!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.