Latvian Mārtiņs Sesks was the fastest in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal shakedown. Diogo Salvi was the best Portuguese with the 16th fastest time.
Thousands of fans created a festive atmosphere during the Baltar shakedown, which served as an opportunity for the drivers to make their final adjustments and feel the dynamics of the race before the official start in Coimbra and the super special in Figueira da Foz.
Most drivers made three passes on a short section (5.7 km) contested mainly on dirt tracks.
Kalle Rovanpera, driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, started as the fastest, but Mārtiņs Sesks was not convinced and, on the last pass, set the fastest time, beating the Finnish driver by 0.6s. It is worth noting that this is the first time that Sesks has driven a Rally1 on Portuguese roads. “It was spectacular. We tried new things in the shakedown, and we are learning. I have already done the rally once with a Ford Fiesta with front-wheel drive in the Juniors. I only remember the names of the cities and nothing else!”
World champion Thierry Neuville was third fastest with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, and Sébastien Ogier recorded the fourth fastest time. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver said: “I have experience in many things, but not with these tires. I didn’t do a single kilometre on dry roads”, said the eight-time world champion.
Diogo Salvi was the best national driver with the Ford Puma Rally1 and 12th in the Rally1. At the end of the shakedown, he said: “It is tremendous, the car slides a lot, that is the positive point. The negative point is that it is very demanding physically”.
This year’s edition of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal begins today with the starting ceremony in Coimbra and a super special in Figueira da Foz, with the first team set to set off at 7:05 pm.
Shakedown classification
1st Mārtiņs Sesks/Renãrs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) – 3:52.30
2nd Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – 3:52.90
3rd Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai I20N Rally1) – 3:53.20
4th Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – 3:54.00
5th Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai I20N Rally1) – 3:54.10
6th Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – 3:54.30
7th Joshua McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) – 3:54.90
8th Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – 3:55.00
9th Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai I 20N Rally1) – 3:55.50
10th Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – 3:56.00
12th Oliver Solberg/Elliot Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) – 4:02.90 (1st Rally2)
12th Gus Greensmith/Renãrs Francis (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) – 4:02.90
16th Diogo Salvi/Axel Coronado (Ford Puma Rally1) – 4:03.90 (1st Portuguese)
40th Diego Domínguez/Rogelio Pinãte (Ford Fiesta Rally3) – 4:15.30 (1st Rally3)
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