Jari-Matti Latvala in great shape

Even if the 5,5 kilometer portion chosen to serve as the final test session for the Rally of Portugal is not very representative of the event to come, Jari-Matti Latvala was able to show his ambitions. But Sébastien Loeb has already made an impression.

Published on 02/04/2009 à 13:26

⁰ View comments)

Jari-Matti Latvala achieves the best shakedown time of the Rally of Portugal, organized south of Loulé this morning. The Ford driver is ahead of his teammate Mikko Hirvonen and Matthew Wilson.

Only fifth, Sébastien Loeb was very satisfied with the settings of his Citroën C4 WRC : “We planned to compare two different options. The first being very efficient, we did not go any further. There was no point in going for another lap with settings that would have turned out to be less good. During the first and second passes, we were the fastest. »

It was only during his third attempt, on a swept road, that Jari-Matti Latvala lowered the five-time World Champion's time, from 3:13??1 to 3:08??1.

More eventful morning for Conrad Rautenbach. The Citroën Junior Team driver returned to the service park with the tow truck.

“After a quick left, I braked a little late for a right turn behind a ?sky? in fourth. We hit a tree and broke a part of the shock absorber. It’s a stupid mistake,” concedes the Zimbabwean. “I preferred to stop so as not to damage the car any further. The mechanics did a great job allowing me to make one last pass. »