Thursday night saw the official start of the 2017 Vodafone Rally de Portugal. With nearly 40,000 fans lining the banks of the iconic Lousada rallycross stage the atmosphere was, as you’d expect, electric. The 3.36km stage consisting of tarmac, gravel and jumps saw the drivers battling hard from the very start.
The Portuguese drivers took to the stage first and thrilled the home crowd. Pedro Meireles and Miguel Barbosa were first out, both in Skoda Fabia R5s. Incredibly, they finished neck and neck, both crossing the line at 2.46.3s, demonstrating just how close the competition in WRC2 is.
The top flight WRC drivers also posted equally remarkable results. Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville and M-Sport World Rally Team’s Mads Ostberg repeated the performance of the stage’s opening drivers by once again posting identical times. As you’d expect, the pace was somewhat faster, with both drivers covering the stage in 2.26.6s. A notably quicker time than last year’s top tier cars, it shows the increased pace for this season.
Hayden Padden brought his Hyundai over the line in 2.26.7s, further driving home the closeness of the competition. M-Sport’s Elfyn Evans, who’s more determined than ever to take a win, completed in 2.37s.
Dani Sordo – the quickest driver through shakedown earlier in the day was fourth fastest, but was keen to comment that this stage is for the fans. For him, the rally really starts tomorrow and a podium push is on his mind.
Current champion, M-Sport’s Sébastien Ogier, was sixth fastest on the stage. With a completely new car to drive, he’s keen to push hard. However, he’s more than aware that being first on the road for the Friday’s gruelling stages is going to provide an extra challenge on an already tough and demanding event.