Aboboreira: Meeke wins despite a rollover and the French

Will it ever change? Probably not and that's what makes the Ulster pilot so endearing. Engaged by Hyundai Portugal to aim for the Lusitanian title, Kris Meeke presented himself at Amarante as the favorite. Already winner of the first two races of the season (Serras de Fafe and Casinos do Algarve), he appears superior to the locals who despite their knowledge of the terrain are unable to compete. Before facing the elite of the world during the rally of Portugal (May 9-12), Meeke could further widen the gap in the championship.

Opposed to several serious strangers to the series, he perhaps did a little too much during the qualification and he performed a caper of which only he has the secret. With a car so far from the road, the intervention to recover it was not easy and the members of his team then had to work hard to allow him to be at the start a few hours later. Meeke rewarded them by dominating the rally. Leader from the first evening, he won in 4 of the 7 SS contested (107,66 km timed) and he was able to overcome a puncture. With this 3^e Trophy in 2024, he is well on his way to the title and above all he will arrive in great shape in Porto. He will find several of the competitors faced in Amarante there.

Without the presence of Kris Meeke, this Rali Terras d'Aboboreira would have seen the success of a crew who came to prepare for the Portuguese WRC2 meeting. With the C3 Rally2, Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin demonstrated that the French car can also claim victory on gravel. The Gardois, perhaps stung by his defeat in Croatia, had a very good race. Constantly on the podium, he appeared more bleeding than the Bulgarian who discovered the C3 on gravel. Will they be able to beat the Yaris and Fabia in 10 days?

Even if it had no impact, the Citroëns were beaten by the Skoda of a ghost. Having not raced in Europe for 5 months (in Central Europe in October) Pierre-Louis Loubet made an effective return to competition. Discovering the Toksport team and collaborating for the 2^e time with Loris Pascaud, the Corsican showed himself to be quick and diligent. After many struggles in Rally1, perhaps he will find a way to get back on track? All these little people, plus other strong candidates, will meet in around ten days for a promising round.

Ranking Rali Terras d'Aboboreira