The reigning world champion delivered one of his finest drives to beat Hyundai’s Dani Sordo by 54.7s and seal maximum points by winning the Power Stage.
The victory was made even more impressive given he was second in the road order ahead of Friday’s dusty gravel stages.
Rovanpera had endured a quiet start to his title defence heading into Portugal having scored only one podium from the previous four rounds, while his last victory arrived in October last year when he clinched the world championship at Rally New Zealand.
The Finn has however remained in the thick of the title fight finishing fourth in the previous rounds in Sweden, Mexico and Croatia, where road position and misfortune have hampered his charge.
Asked if it was a relief to be back on the top step of the podium, he said: "Yeah it has been a bit too long coming but I knew when we get a clean weekend and a good drive we would be back in the game. It was nice to have it here and be back.
"Everything was like it should be with the car so we were a back on the game and pushing on. You always miss the feeling when you are not there and it is nice to be back."
Source: Autosport