Obviously, nobody told Ogier that road sweeping slows you down! He took over the lead on stage four and never relinquished it, despite having the disadvantage of sweeping the road. Even the mighty Loeb wasn't able to chase Ogier down and Loeb had to settle for second. The fact that Ogier didn't succumb to the pressure, confirms that he is a world champion in the making.
The fight for third became equally intense on day three with Sordo, Petter Solberg, and Hirvonen all in contention for the last podium position. In the end, Sordo was quickest while Solberg had some bad luck and fell back to fifth.
Day three was a real nail biter much like New Zealand was. When so many drivers are pushing themselves to the limit, there's a greater chance of it all going wrong. Unlike New Zealand, Portugal was a straight fight to the finish and Ogier won the rally on merit alone.
What's going on with Hirvonen this year? He started the season in good form with a win in Sweden, but has since faded away, never finishing higher than third. Although there is excellent competition this year, they are only squabbling over second place in the championship. If Hirvonen doesn't up his game soon, he is going to hand Loeb a seventh drivers' title on a silver platter.
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