Mikko Hirvonen won this Sunday the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, an edition of the race marked by bad weather and many adventures.
The Finnish driver did not win any qualifying, but was the most regular of the drivers in the race, which was marked by many trips off the track and penalties for unfinished stages.
Portugal was once again a talisman for the Citröen team, which wins the Rally de Portugal for the third consecutive time, despite having seen its member and world champion in title Sebastien Löeb give up on the first day. Hirvonen won for the first time in Portugal, succeeding Ogier, who this year was eighth. The remaining podium places went to Østberg and Novikov.
Also highlighted was Dani Sordo, who after a shaky start, took off for a series of best times in qualifying and ended up winning the Power Stage, the last stage of this year's edition of the rally. The extra points that the special qualifying gives, for the fight for the world title, were also for Latvala and Tänak.
On the last day of the race, Ford drivers Jari Latvala and Petter Solberg were the fastest and tried to make up for the delay caused by accidents on the second day of the race. An effort that still allowed Solberg to climb to 4th place overall, but that was not enough for Latvala to reach the points.
The Portuguese Armindo Araújo finished the race in 16th place, after having had problems with his car yesterday.
Hirvonen debuts winning with Citroën
Mikko Hirvonen achieved his first victory in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal and also debuted in the Citroën colors. The Finn finished the 46th edition of the Portuguese round of the World Rally Championship with an advantage of 1'51,8s over second-placed Mads Ostberg. But it wasn't just the Norse who threw the party. Other riders cheered effusively on having made it to the end after going through countless difficulties over the four days of competition.
In this year's edition, weather played an important role in defining the final classification, and the last day of the race was no exception. Early in the morning, the sun made its presence felt and the temperature rose. But sections of the last section were battered by heavy rain and the muddy surfaces became an even more demanding test of the riders' skill. Most teams had already used, in the previous days, the ten soft tires they were entitled to. And, for that reason, there were many who entered with caution. Nobody wanted to make mistakes and get out of the way, especially Hirvonen.
The World runner-up was the only official Citroën driver in competition since Loeb retired on the first day due to a road trip. Calculator, Hirvonen managed the progress during practically the entire event because his objective was to finish the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Due to its consistency and judicious use of the tyres, Hirvonen even climbed to the top of the podium for the 15th time in his career, first with Citroën. “We did exactly what was planned. Friday was a very difficult and treacherous day. I had to concentrate as much as possible. I did it for myself and for the team.”
But it wasn't just Hirvonen who arrived at the Algarve Stadium for the ceremony, with a smile on his face for having finished on the podium. Mads Ostberg and Evgeny Novikov felt their positions, second and third respectively, in danger on the last day of the race due to mechanical problems in their cars. The Norwegian's Fiesta WRC had engine problems that nearly ruined his race. The thruster began to fail and went into connection mode, in which power is reduced compared to competition mode. Luckily for the Norwegian's ambitions, his mechanics managed to resolve the situation for the afternoon sections and the young Nordic managed to secure second place.
Evgeny Novikov also thought he would lose his best ever classification in a World Cup rally. At the end of the second to last qualifying, the 20th, the throttle cable on his Fiesta broke and the car became practically unshakable. But thanks to the experience of his co-driver, the experienced Denis Giraudet, the Russian driver managed to solve the problem and keep the last place on the podium.
Official Ford drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg kept to their missive: try to regain positions. But for Latvala, the mechanical problem of the day before cost him too much time and the Finn did not go beyond the 14th place absolute, despite starting impressive times in some sections of today's stage. Solberg, meanwhile, still dreamed of a podium finish, but ended up finishing fourth.
After suffering punctures on his DS3 WRC, Nasser Al-Attiyah managed to regain fifth place in the last special of the rally, a position he had already said he wanted this morning. Qatari had a consistent drive and only the puncture relegated him to sixth in the penultimate qualifying. Then, on the Power Stage, the driver took all the risks he could to, on a track full of mud and very slippery, return to fifth place, ahead of Martin Prokop.
Highlight also for Dani Sordo, who was another of the day's winners. The Spaniard won the Power Stage with a time of 3'10,4s, three tenths less than Jari-Matti Latvala. The Mini driver took advantage of the fact that he passed when the special was not yet wet to earn the three extra points of victory in that qualifying.
Armindo Araújo had a complicated day with holes and a spinning top. With nothing to gain, the Portuguese driver simply took the Mini to the end to thank his fans and supporters.
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