Final Preparations Over and Drivers Ready For The StartThe drivers taking part in this year’s PT-Rallye de Portugal made their final preparations for the event this morning (31 March 2005), as they completed the official event shakedown at Loulé, 10km north of the event base at the Algarve Stadium. And if the official times are any indication, this weekend’s event should see some extremely close action.
Many of the FIA World Rally Championship drivers, past and present, spent the session acclimatising themselves to their Group N Subaru Impreza WRXs and adjusting settings to their liking. Former World Rally Champion Didier Auriol completed just two runs over the 5km stage before declaring himself happy with the car, while Juha Kankkunen undertook three runs, adjusting suspension settings as he went.
Mikko Hirvonen spent the morning trying different suspension and transmission components and then fine tuning them to get the best feeling with his Subaru, claiming third fastest time of the morning. “For me, the hardest thing to get used to is the brakes – there is a completely different feeling to what I’m used to. We went for a big set-up change this morning and then spent the rest of the session adjusting settings to get the car feeling better. We will get used to the car as we go along but it’s very good fun.”
Finnish Group N regular Jukka Ketomaki had a successful morning, another driver fine tuning his car without any problems, to claim the second placed time. But it was Daniel Carllson who went through the test quickest, but only just. “We made a few small changes as we went along – nothing major but it all helped. It would have been good to get some more time in the car to get used to it but I’m feeling good for the rally itself. I’m sure I will enjoy it.”
One of the most famous names in rallying, Carlos Sainz, has a vital role for the rally, driving the safety ‘zero’ car. “As the 0 car, we are planning to go fast, as we will need to. But we will also have to be looking out for safety issues, such as spectators numbers and locations. We will be collaborating closely with the organisers to make sure we help as much as possible. The stages themselves look very good already and we will see what they are like with spectators in.”
Local Group N driver Armindo Araujo spent the morning making sure his car was perfect, ready for the start; “We’re not testing anything special this morning,” he said. “The car feels very nice and we may try one or two small changes to see what effect they have. The stages for the rally itself are very nice but not what I would call typical Portuguese stages. They are more like I imagine Finland to be – very fast with lots of crests. It will be difficult for everyone I think, as these stages are new for all.”
Junior World Rally Championship regulars Daniel Sordo and Kosti Katajamaki demonstrated their abilities, with their shakedown times separated by just two seconds. Katajamaki showed full commitment with a small off in the stage in his Suzuki Ignis S1600; “The stage feels nice but it’s quite slippery. We are making small changes to the car’s set up but we’re definitely making progress. For me, it’s good to spend time in the car, as my last rally was Monte Carlo.” Sordo suffered from excessive wheelspin in his Citroen C2 and spent the session making changes to try to limit the loss of traction.
Local S1600 runner Adruzilo Lopes had an uneventful morning, completing one run to make sure his Citroen C2 was in perfect trim for the start. The Portuguese Peugeot Total team also had an uneventful morning, with Miguel Campos and Bruno Magalhães checking their cars over. There was drama for the Volkswagen Galp Racing team, however, with the Polo S1600 of Pedro Meireles suffering transmission failure at the start of the stage. The team retrieved the car and set about changing the transmission to allow them to take the start. This was after a quick turnaround on team-mate Paulo Meireles’ Polo, which had been rebuilt following damage on a national event just three weeks earlier.
The crews now head to the marina at Vilamoura for the ceremonial start of the event, to be held at 20.00hrs local time. Portugal is GMT + 1 hour.
Shakedown Times
1. D Carlsson Subaru Impreza WRX Gp N 03:26.12. J Ketomaki Subaru Impreza WRX Gp N 03:26.43. M Hirvonen Subaru Impreza WRX Gp N 03:27.84. D Sordo Citroen C2 S1600 03:30.45. R Teodosio Mitsubishi Lancer EvoVII Gp N 03:32.16. K Katajamaki Suzuki Ignis S1600 03:32.57. A Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer EvoVIII Gp N 03:32.68. J Kankkunen Subaru Impreza WRX Gp N 03:36.39. P Meireles VW Polo S1600 03:40.110. P Meireles VW Polo S1600 03:40.211. M Campos Peugeot 206 S1600 03:40.412. B Magalhaes Peugeot 206 S1600 03:40.613. D Auriol Subaru Impreza WRX Gp N 03:40.7
