END OF DAY QUOTES, RALLY DE PORTUGAL, DAY 1
114. Fredrik Åhlin (1st) said:
“The first three stages were good and I am really happy to be leading. The last stage [SS4] was not what I had hoped for and we lost maybe 10 seconds there. I made a set up change before the last stage, which didn’t work, and we had no traction. We also lost our rhythm with the notes so didn’t push. Unfortunately the change didn’t work but that’s rallying.”
106. Brendan Reeves (2nd) said:
“I am finding being here for the second time so much better. We are more comfortable and we know the car and the set-up we need. We also know how important it is to get to the finish. We are not pushing so hard now, just focusing on tomorrow and getting the car to the finish.
“It was great to win the opening stage and exciting that every stage so far has had a different winner. I made a few small errors tonight but all in all I am really happy with how everything is going. We just need to make sure we get it right tomorrow.”
103. Alastair Fisher (3rd) said:
“Overall we had a good run. I overshot a junction on SS2. Luckily there was an access road we could take, but we lost the best part of 10 seconds. The rest of the stages, especially the last stage [SS4] went well for us.”
105. Pontus Tidemand (4th) said:
“Today was quite good. We had an easy start and were beginning to push more on the stages tonight. We will keep the same pace and try to get the car to the finish.”
109. Elfyn Evans (5th) said:
“It was difficult out there tonight. We started off well on the first gravel stage [SS2] but half way through the screen misted up and it took a while to clear. We also caught a car and couldn’t pass him so ended up stuck in the dust. I struggled for the two stages after that to get into the groove. Nothing really clicked so we will have to try and re-focus for the morning and see what we can do.”
107. Timo van der Marel (6th) said:
“Today was difficult, very difficult! It was the first time for me to drive properly on gravel in the dark. We had a few issues with our windscreen fogging up and some pace notes on the last stage [SS4]. But we made it back here which is the most important thing.”
102. Jose Suárez (7th) said:
“The super special stage was very good and I was happy with our time. Unfortunately the other stages were not so good. We are struggling with our pace notes and the conditions were quite difficult. I think it will be better tomorrow so we will wait until then.”
101. Chris Duplessis (8th) said:
“This evening was alright, although I was having trouble trusting my pace notes. It is my first time writing my own notes so at night and in the rain it was a little tough! I think my times show that. But we are having fun and we are still here.”
111. Joao Silva (9th) said:
“The Super Special Stage went very well for us but it was much more difficult out on the gravel stages. I have never driven in these conditions and the visibility was very bad. Having total confidence in the pace notes was also difficult. On the last stage [SS4] we got stuck and had to wait for help to get back on the road. But I am looking forward to the daylight tomorrow!”
108. John MacCrone (Rally 2)
“We came over a crest too fast on SS2 and the nose of the car dived and landed heavily. The sumpguard dug into the road and damaged the front of the car so we were not able to continue. I am disappointed but it’s not over yet and we are looking forward to tomorrow.”
END OF DAY 1 RESULTS
1. Åhlin 29:28.6
2. Reeves +0.5
3. Fisher +1.9
4. Tidemand +15.7
5. Evans +32.3
6. Van Der Marel +58.7
7. Suárez +1:34.6
8. Duplessis +1:50.6
9. Silva +7:37.7
10. MacCrone +14:48.1 (Rally 2)
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