The morning of the second day of this year’s Vodafone Rally de Portugal saw crews tackling three stages still wet from the rain affecting the area in recent days. The first two stages of the day gave differing levels of grip for the crews, with some corners extremely slippery while others were drier but the third stage of the day gave more consistent levels of grip.
Dani Sordo took the win on the first two stages of the day, running 12th on the road and potentially benefitting from the cleaning effect of the earlier cars. However, it was on the third stage where normal service was resumed, with Jari-Matti Latvala taking the win in his VW.
However, as the crews returned to the Algarve Stadium for the mid-day service it was Sebastien Ogier who held the overall lead, a scant 0.4 seconds ahead of Latvala, thanks to consistent performances on all three stages. In third place was Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen, ahead of Ott Tanak and Sordo in fifth.
Citroen’s Mads Ostberg holds sixth with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville in seventh.
The conditions caught several drivers out; Welsh driver Elfyn Evans went off the road on the day’s third test and retired from the first leg of the event, hopefully to return on the third day.
Juho Haninnen also suffered a puncture in the third stage but his time loss was potentially reduced as Robert Kubica, who passed him on the road, then hit a tree and blocked the stage for Hanninen and several other cars behind.
Following Kubica’s crash, the stage was cancelled with notional times to be awarded to following drivers.
In WRC2, Jari Ketomaa and Nasser Al-Attiyah were very close at the head of the field and after the two stages they contested, were separated by just 0.7 seconds, in Al-Attiyah’s favour, with Karl Kruuda a further 40 seconds back.
In the Junior WRC/WRC3, Irishman Alastair Fisher holds the overall lead, almost 30 seconds ahead of Simone Campadelli and Martin Koci in third.
Hyundai Motorsport has today announced Finnish driver Juho Hänninen as one of the team’s test drivers for 2013, ending weeks of speculation over the mystery man behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC in May.
Hyundai Motorsport has been building up its new operation from scratch since the start of the year, establishing the team at a dedicated facility in Alzenau, Germany and recruiting specialists at every level of its organisation.
Test drivers are an integral part of the team’s development programme, requiring the necessary skills and experience to develop a competitive and reliable rally car in a short space of time.
Six months ahead of the debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2014, Hyundai Motorsport is in the process of carrying out an intensive test programme to evaluate and develop the i20 WRC on all terrains and conditions.
Hänninen won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2010 followed by the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship and the FIA European Rally Championship titles in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He will be a valuable asset for the team to prepare the assault to the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship.
Hyundai Motorsport will soon be in a position to announce a second test driver for the remainder of the 2013 test phase. 2014 drivers will be announced at the end of the year.
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “We’re very pleased to welcome Juho on board for our 2013 test programme. I’m sure his experience and background will contribute to the project and I’m happy with the job he’s done so far.
We have decided to work with different drivers with unique skills and capabilities this year, which will provide us with valuable feedback for 2014.
Hänninen said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Hyundai Motorsport testing programme for this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work closely to a manufacturer and to give my contribution to this great challenge.
The first run with the i20 WRC was quite positive for me; I’m very impressed with the work the team has done so far in such an incredibly short space of time. I feel comfortable with everyone in the team and I look forward to carry on working with them in the next six months.”