When WRC Rally Portugal was decided by 2.1s

There is very little that can be achieved in life in 2.1s but in motorsport fractions of seconds are critical in determining victory or defeat, as the World Rally Championship has proved.

This weekend, the world's best rally drivers head to the rough gravel stages of Portugal which hosts the fifth round of the season. Portugal’s roads are known to deliver a stern challenge where every second matters, best highlighted back in 1998 when legends Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz produced one of the closest finishes in WRC history. Or as McRae put it, “a bit close for comfort.” 

Carlos Sainz Snr hit the headlines last week following the revelation the Spaniard is contemplating running to be president of motorsport’s governing body- the FIA. But back in 1998 the two-time world rally champion headed to Portugal - his 100th WRC rally - sitting tied at the top of the WRC standings, driving for Toyota.

Sainz shared the top spot, with current Toyota WRC deputy team principal and four-time WRC champion Juha Kankkunen (driving for Ford), while 1995 champion McRae was a lowly fifth for Subaru after a difficult start to the campaign. That tricky start for McRae was however turned around in Portugal, but only after a heart stopping finish.    

A final stage showdown seemed highly unlikely after the first day of competition as McRae, driving the iconic blue and yellow Subaru, took charge. McRae, a hero among the Portuguese fans for his flamboyant driving style, made the most of an inspired tyre choice to claim six of the opening 10 stages.

Such dominance equated to a 44.2s lead over Kankkunen, while Sainz managed to recover from his Corolla’s suspension and transmission issues to sit 49.6s adrift in third. The top five was completed by then reigning world champion Mitsubishi’s Tommi Makinen [+56.3s] and Toyota privateer Freddy Loix [+1m11.6s].

But there were however concerns in the McRae camp, centring around his Subaru’s engine.

“There is certainly something wrong, it is not 100%, it [the engine] is using quite a lot of oil and it is mixing water with the oil for some reason,” said McRae at the end of day service. 

There were no signs of any engine woes when battle resumed on day two, which featured 15 hours on the road. McRae managed to extend his lead to almost a minute over Ford’s Kankkunen, who felt the Scot was simply uncatchable. Sainz’s victory bid was also faltering thanks to a broken brake pipe that demoted the Spaniard from third to fifth. Sainz, however, fared better than Makinen, who exited the rally after running into trees on Stage 12.

But rallying is very rarely plain sailing. Leader McRae was next to hit trouble when a puncture on Stage 14 halved his lead to Kankkunen, only for the Ford driver to then suffer a differential issue that dropped the Finn out of the victory fight. 

McRae was however unable to relax as rapid privateer Loix reeled off fastest times on the day’s final four stages to heap the pressure on, as the lead was reduced to 11.3s entering the final day. While the focus was on Loix’s brilliance, Sainz had quietly hauled himself back into the mix just 27.8s in arrears.

The seemingly unflappable McRae remained defiant despite having witnessed his once huge lead reduced to almost single digits. 

“We will just attack again 100% and see what happens over the first few stages. We really need the 10 points [for the victory], and that is what we are going for," he said ahead of the final eight stages. 

It was the factory Toyota driven by Sainz that stole the headlines on the final day as Loix’s gearbox developed a problem that effectively ended his victory hopes. Those hopes however were transferred to Sainz, who won four stages to sit 6.8s behind McRae, setting up a grandstand final stage decider. McRae felt the victory was about to slip through his fingers.

"It depends a lot on the [road] surface really and at the moment it doesn’t look like it [we can hang on] because it is very similar to the surface we have been on and there is nothing we can do,” said McRae.

Sainz was prepared to throw everything at it to snatch the win, admitting; “we have to [risk everything, we will try.”

Try, he most certainly did, as Sainz threw his Corolla through the Amarante stage, a shorter version of the test that will host stages 14 and 17 this weekend. Midway through the stage he’d clawed back half of the time required. 

McRae reached the stage finish before Sainz and uttered the words “we will see if that is enough” to his co-driver Nicky Grist. After a nerve jangling few minutes it proved it was enough but by the smallest of margins, as Sainz crossed the finish 2.1s shy of McRae’s overall time. It remains today the sixth closest finish in WRC history.

“It was a bit close for comfort. I was confident at the start of the morning and up until the second last stage, then I was a bit doubtful. I knew it was going to be close but you have to be confident,” said a victorious McRae.

The victory kick-started McRae’s season but it was Sainz that narrowly missed out on a third world title after losing out to Makinen after a dramatic Rally GB season finale.    

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