After the opening stage of the 2013 Vodafone Rally de Portugal, Volkswagen Motorsport driver Sebastien Ogier finished second in the stage with a time of 22:14.3, though he continues to lead overall.
Yesterday’s charge from Citroen Abu Dhabi World rally Team’s Daniel Sordo came to an abrupt end after he collided with a rock, damaging the right-rear suspension of his DS3 WRC. He was reported to be seen changing a wheel but he failed to re-start the stage.
Ogier’s Volkswagen Motorsport teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala benefitted from Sordo’s incident, finishing the stage in 22:13.2s, earning him the stage win. The result puts him just 10.3s behind the leader, securing second position. Third went to Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver, Mikko Hirvonen who is also in third overall after finishing the stage in 22:18.3s.
Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team driver, Mads Ostberg finished the stage in fourth with a time of 22:23.7s in his freshly repaired Fiesta WRC which was damaged after yesterday’s roll during SS3.
Evgeny Novikov finished fifth in the stage in is Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team Fiesta WRC.
Another casualty of the second day’s opening stage was Qatar World Rally Team’s Thierry Neuville. A collision with a rock just after the first split resulted in broken suspension, ending the stage for the Belgian driver.
Car 2, Hirvonen/Lehtinen
“Are they okay (Sordo)? The stage was slow and twisty, when you try to get rhythm it just doesn’t come. But yeah, it was good for us.”
Car 4, Ostberg/Andersson
“It’s okay, there are a few places with some mud. But other than that it’s nice and clean, it’s really enjoyable. They tyres are overheating a lot. But I’ve used them, I paid for them!”
Car 5, Novikov/Minor
“It was okay, after yesterday we were trying to drive at our maximum. We didn’t need to make any changes to our pace-notes or to the car, it’s exactly how it was yesterday.”
Car 6, Al-Attyah/Bernacchini
“It was really very tricky. The road is very hard with a lot of loose rock, but I decided to run early morning with stiffer springs. The stage is good, but it’s not easy.”
Car 7, Latvala/Anttila
“It is not an easy stage, very difficult, we went very wide in the beginning just 100m before Neuville. There is no time to recover at any point. In the end it was okay for us.”
Car 8, Ogier/Ingrassia
“I don’t know what happened, he (Sordo) was stopped in the stage. It wasn’t an accident, he was just parked. It was a difficult stage. It’s a tough rally. It’s not a strong lead, Jari-Matti is quite close.”
Car 9, Mikkelsen/Markkula
“No problems, a clean stage, a very tricky one, a real wake up call. Learning, learning, learning. I will prove the car’s potential.”
Car 10, Al Qassimi/Martin
“I’m not really happy with this morning. We have to change a lot of things in the notes. Maybe because it quite slippery? We can’t get the confidence in the car. It’s not a good start.”
Car 12, Kosciuszko/Szczepaniak
“I saw everything! The stage is very tricky and hard, I thought the tyres were working really hard, I just hope they last. We had a few moments, a little bit too fast in some places.”
Car 15, Kuipers/Buysmans
“Very technical, we had some difficulties but it was a very, very tricky stage.”
Car 21, Prokop/Ernst
“It was very difficult because after a long break from yesterday to drive on this stage it was difficult to get the rhythm and drive this stage. It’s still good, the road is still in one piece.”
Car 31, Lappi/Ferm
“It’s not easy, but it’s fun. It was a good stage, absolutely. I think I saw one M-Sport car and one Citroen stopped. It looked okay, they were changing a tyre I think.”
Car 32, Wiegand/Christian
“I had a problem with the intercom so I couldn’t hear the notes properly.”
Car 49, Kikireshko/Larens
“There was a problem at the end of the stage, we saw the water temp was a bit high when we looked at the dashboard.”
Car 51, Chardonnet/De La Haye
“It was pretty good at the stage, but after that I slowed down. I then went off the side of the road and stalled, losing around 20 seconds.”
Car 52, Gilbert/Galimiche
“Because of my starting order I was stuck for 12km behind Aasen, so I was stuck without a chance of overtaking.”
Car 53, Fisher/Noble
“The stage was very rough, there were a lot of shock, we just tried to save the tyres.”
Car 59, Bouffier/Panseri
“The road was very hard and rough, there is only one lane or narrow roads in some places, we have to be very careful.”
Car 60, Cronin/Clarke
“I’ve been careful and tried to avoid any problems. It’s a very tricky stage.”
Car 74, Kubica/Baran
“I have to drive all the stage with one hand on the wheel and one on the gear lever, it’s been a very good test for my arm! This stage is crazy. We need to look at the gearbox, but it looks like we’re going to have to do the next two stages with no adapted gearbox.”
Car 79, Barrable/Loudon
“It was a good stage. I pushed and pushed, it’s a bit hard but I’m happy.”
Car 81, Moura/Costa
“It’s a hard rally. We finished even though we had a puncture, I hope I have not slowed down Magalhães who was behind us.”
Car 82, Protasov/Sikk
“I’m still learning the car, it’s a long process.”
Car 83, Magalhães/Magalhães
“Moura didn’t slow me down. The stage is very hard and it’s easy to make a mistake. I saw a lot of cars stopped. I want to give the show to the fans and keep the rhythm.”
Car 84, Meireles/Castro
“This stage is really hard, very, very complicated. We are learning the car and it’s running well. This is a learning process. We hope to keep it going like this. My goal is to complete as many kilometres as possible and reach the end.”
Car 102, Tidemand/Floene
“The pace was quite good, I just tried to keep it under control.”
Car 105, Suarez/Carrera
“I had to be careful because it’s a very hard stage.”
Car 109, Aasen/Engan
“I was short of brakes, I hit a bank on the co-driver’s side.”