Dominguez secures emphatic WRC3 victory in Portugal

While there was no shortage of stage wins for the Paraguayan over the course of the week, he applied a steadier approach to Sunday’s final four speed tests having started the day with a near two-minute lead over his rivals.

Ford Fiesta Rally3 driver Dominguez reached the finish 1min 2.5sec clear of his nearest challenger Mattéo Chattilon, having racked up an impressive tally of seven fastest stage times.

Bolivia’s Bruno Bulacia followed Chattilon onto the podium in another Fiesta. The youngster impressed early in the weekend, even battling with Dominguez for the lead before an overheating engine scuppered his hopes on Saturday.

Fourth place was enough for Jan Černý to climb to second in the championship standings while Ghjuvanni Rossi and Tristan Charpentier completed the top six.

Černý now trails Romet Jürgenson, who was not competing in Portugal, by six points in the series despite completing Saturday’s 35km Amarante stage without power steering.