WRC Rally Portugal got off to a dramatic start, even before it had begun. Monster Energy World Rally driver Ken Block, dramatically rolled his WRC Ford Fiesta during the 3rd shakedown stage on Wed. after hitting a rock. Block was ok after the crash, but the car was not and he was forced to withdraw from his entry.
The 3rd WRC Rally of the year went much better for the Citroen Team with Sebastien Ogier taking his 1st victory of the year and their 2nd consecutive victory on the gravel stages in Portugal. “I’m very happy, we had the perfect weekend, the car was perfect and Julien was perfect. I would like to dedicate this victory to all the team who prepared a perfect car. They showed trust in me since the start of the season and following my mistake in Mexico. It is the best way to come back. It is a long way to go in the championship but I’m in a better position,” said Ogier.
Citroen Teammate Sebastien Loeb took 2nd place behind Ogier and also the bonus points from the Power Stage. The bonus points helped Loeb match Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen for the driver’s points lead for the season. Loeb expressed his frustration with Hirvonen after being slowed by dust from Mikko after Mikko stopped to change a puncture on Saturday. “He has a puncture and started eight seconds in front of me and didn’t let me pass to protect Latvala. He destroyed my race. He had the puncture not me. We can play for third only. It’s finished,” said Loeb after the incident, obviously that was not the case.
“I’m sure Sebastien is really mad but it happens, I’m sorry,” said Hirvonen, who lost almost two minutes on the stage. “We changed the tire, the road was clear and we went.” Loeb bumped Mikko’s rear bumper at the finish to express his disgust.
Hirvonen took 4th place despite suffering a broken driveshaft on Sunday morning and a broken rear damper on the Power Stage. Mikko’s final day issues helped his Ford teammate Jari-Matti Latvala to secure his 3rd podium finish of the year. Latvala also suffered driveshaft issues earlier in the weekend which cost him a chance at victory.
Matthew Wilson secured a very impressive 5th place in his Stobart Ford Fiesta. Wilson had moved up to 4th after Hirvonen’s issues early on Sunday, but couldn’t keep Mikko behind him on the final stages.
Petter Solberg had a rough weekend, suffering 3 punctures on the 1st day of competition. Since Petter only had 2 spares with him, he was forced to retire after suffering his 3rd puncture as drivers are not allowed to transit without a tire. Solberg fought hard all weekend to make up time and started Sunday in 9th place. Solberg then took stage wins on 2 of the 3 final stages and overtook Kimi Raikkonen on the final stage to secure an impressive 6th place finish. “It was not bad but for me I am very sad about the first day with the unbelievable punctures,” said Petter Solberg after the final stage. “But I recovered from this and I will never give up.”
Kimi was somewhat disappointed losing his 6th place standing on the final stage, but was not surprised Petter was able to move pass him. “I knew Petter would push like hell [on the last stage] but it was okay. We learned a lot with this car on this rally after just a little test. We improved the car, now we have to pick up the speed a bit.”
Frederico Villagra took 8th despite admitting he needs more time to master the new Ford Fiesta. Henning Solberg started Sunday in 6th place, but suffered turbo issues on the Power Stage. Henning feared he would slow down Mikko on the penultimate stage and stopped to let Hirvonen pass costing him a bunch of time and settled for 9th behind Villagra.
The WRC season continues with Rally Jordan on April 14-16.
