Hirvonen takes the risk

Point of tactics at the end of the first day of the Rally Portugal. Mikko Hirvonen, in the lead before the start of the last special stage of the day, did not try to escape... unless his position, between Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo prevented him...

Published on 03/04/2009 à 20:46

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The Ford driver takes responsibility. Ending the first day of Rally of Portugal in first position, Mikko Hirvonen knows that he will have to spend his entire Saturday sweeping the road ahead of Dani Sordo, second at 15 seconds, and Sébastien Loeb, third at 18 seconds.

But the best placed could be Marcus Grönholm. The double World Champion, who drives a Subaru Impreza WRC, finds himself in fourth place, 23??9 behind the leader, a perfect position for the rest of the rally.

Behind the four leaders, Petter Solberg is in fifth place with good consistency. Less powerful than the most recent WRCs, the Citroën Xsara WRC remains a formidable weapon in the hands of the 2003 Champion.

Satisfaction shown by the Citroën Junior Team. Sébastien Ogier ended the day with a series of good performances including a third time. The Junior World Champion returns to the Algarve Stadium in sixth place ahead of Matthew Wilson and Evgeny Novikov.

In J-WRC, Michal Kosciuszko is ahead of Yoann Bonato. The two Suzuki drivers are ahead of the Renault by Kevin Abbring. The three drivers are held together in less than a minute. Local Armindo Araujo occupies first position in the P-WRC.

The second day will start at 8:40 a.m. for six special stages and 72,59 timed kilometers.