Saturday 29 the current WRC champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia securedvictory at the legendary “Fafe Rally Sprint” at their debut attempt. The Volkswagen pair put on a spectacular show in their Polo R WRC for more than 100,000 enthusiastic spectators. On the 6.34-kilometre stage in Northern Portugal, the French rally ace set the best time of the day with 3:40.5 minutes, just ahead of Ott Tänak (3:40.5 minutes, Ford) and third-placed Dani Sordo (3:42.2 minutes, Hyundai).

“It was an absolutely fantastic experience,” said the Sébastien Ogier afterwards with visible enthusiasm. “The Portuguese fans really are some of the best in the world. We wanted to thank them in our own small way, which is why we were driving with the national flag at the rear today. In some places you can hardly see the countryside for the crowds of people, it’s incredible. On top of that, the stage is really demanding and the jump is tremendous. Such an event is definitely a bonus for rallying. There’s no way we are going to miss out next year.”