Thousands of people cheered at the traditional opening Shakedown of the WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal, in Paredes, where Dani Sordo achieved the best time and led the official Hyundai trio. Teams head to the Central region this afternoon, for the official start in Coimbra, and for the Super-Special in Figueira da Foz.
Dani Sordo and Candido Carrera, with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, achieved a time of 2m51.2s on their second pass through the 4.61km Shakedown, in Paredes, this Thursday morning.
The Spanish duo made three passes on the special that ends inside the Baltar circuit, surrounded, as usual, by thousands of fans, concluding the final test session with half a second advantage over teammates Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, with WRC leaders Thierry Neuville and Martin Wydaeghe taking third, forming Hyundai’s ‘1-2-3’ to open.
“This rally is always special. It’s great to be back after so long. And this year there are several strong drivers here. The fight will be intense,” said Sordo.
Tänak, on the other hand, added: “I would say the position on the road is not too bad. But we need to try harder.”
After achieving a time of 2min 55.2s, on his second pass through the section, Neuville anticipated difficulties for this weekend: “The grip is not great. This is not our strongest surface. It’s a little damp.”
Sébastien Ogier, the eight-time World Champion, was fourth and first in the Toyota. The record holder for victories in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal returns to the race, after failing last year’s edition: “Two years ago I also had a good starting position here and it was a disaster. I want to try to correct that this weekend. Always I had a good connection with Portugal. I won here five times and the plan is to correct what I did wrong two years ago.”
Elfyn Evans, ranked seventh in the Shakedown, added: “It will continue to be difficult at the front. Ott (Tänak) starts with some advantage. We need to have a ‘clean’ Friday and attack from there.”
Increasingly confident, Takamoto Katsuta also promised to go into ‘samurai’ mode in the Central and Northern sections: “Attack as much as possible. That’s the plan”, said the Japanese, sixth placed.
Kalle Rovanperä ‘flew’ on the first pass and achieved the best time so far, even without the hybrid system in his Toyota. The two-time defending World Champion praised the crowd at the Portuguese race: “The feeling is good. The Shakedown wasn’t ideal for us. The car isn’t 100% yet. But it’s great to see all these fans,” he said. the young Finn.
British driver Gus Greensmith (Skoda) was the fastest in the shakedown among the WRC2 competitors, which has almost 40 teams in Portugal. Kris Meeke (Hyundai) dominated among the competitors in the Portuguese Rally Championship and Bolivian Bruno Bulacia (Ford) achieved the best time in WRC3.
Fan co-drove with Ogier through Race for Good
One of Ogier’s passes during the shakedown had a different passenger than usual in the Toyota co-driver’s seat: the winner of an initiative launched by Race for Good, the solidarity association founded by André Villas-Boas, who drew a prize. -drive with the French pilot, with the funds going to social action institutions. An experience to remember later.
Tennis player João Sousa and chef José Avillez were also able to experience the extreme emotions of a WRC premier class car. João Sousa rode alongside Thierry Neuville, in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, and José Avillez rode at high speed alongside Takamoto Katsuta, in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
This afternoon, the teams head to Coimbra, for the official starting ceremony of the rally. An autograph session with the riders, starting at 4pm, in the Santa Clara-a-Velha Monastery yard, precedes the official departure, at 5pm, on Avenida de Conímbriga. The competitors then head to Figueira da Foz, for the opening Super Special, which this year has a redesigned route (2.94 km), next to the Santa Catarina Fort, starting at 7:05 pm (and broadcast live on SportTV4 and RTP1).
WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal – Shakedown Results (Rally1 teams)
1. Dani Sordo (ESP)/Candido Carrera (ESP) – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 51.2s
2. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST) – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 51.7sec
3. Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL) – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 52.1sec
4. Sébastien Ogier (FRA)/Vincent Landais (FRA) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 52.2sec
5. Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Alexandre Coria (FRA) – Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 52.3sec
6. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 52.4sec
7. Elfyn Evans (GBR)/Scott Martin (GBR) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 52.7sec
8. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)/Jonne Halttunen (FIN) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 52.7sec
9. Grégoire Munster (LUX)/Louis Louka (BEL) – Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid – 2min 56.2sec
