Thierry Neuville (Hyundai I20) has won the first special stage in the Rally of Portugal. The Belgian was six-tenths faster than the Frenchman Sébastien Ogier. Estonian Ott Tänak set the third fastest time, he was two seconds slower than his teammate Neuville.
Bron: BELGIAN
The first special stage in the fifth World Cup rally was an artificially constructed technical special stage designed in the streets and car parks of Figueira da Foz. Portugal is an unpaved rally and therefore only gravel tires are allowed. The combination of those tires and a show stage at the start of the rally caused a lot of criticism.
“I just wanted to drive clean and I especially didn’t want to be a spoilsport and bring down the atmosphere,” said Neuville. “But a ride with only donuts in the run-up to tomorrow’s tough day of driving with the same tires is absolute nonsense. We’ve said this before, but no one is listening. It’s a bit of a shame. Anyway, there were a lot of spectators. I hope they saw something. I’m sure we could do much better.”
Neuville was supported by, among others, Ogier, who has already won the Rally of Portugal five times and is therefore the record holder together with the Finn Markku Alen.
Eight stages will be held on Friday, with only a tire change halfway through. The teams can only work on the cars in the evening. As World Cup leader, Neuville has to be the first on the track and is therefore at a disadvantage. It will be a matter of trying to limit the damage and trying to get the best possible starting position for Saturday.
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