Diogo Gago and Jorge Carvalho were not happy in the first stage of Rallye Liepaja, part of the European Junior Rally Championship, with the Portuguese duo from Peugeot Rallye Academy taking part in a road trip when they occupied the 6th position among the Juniors. This is also the debut of the young Portuguese riders in the snow.
The Portuguese duo entered the Latvian race well, achieving an excellent 6th place in the opening section, even being the best debutants aboard the Peugeot 208 R2.
However, the good start would be short-lived sunshine, as misfortune would knock them at the door in the next special, with the Portuguese pair going off the road, losing almost ten minutes.
It was worth the effort of the duo to repair a fortune after the second special and later the work of the Sainteloc technical team at the Service Park, thus allowing them to finish the first stage of the race.
After the end of the stage, Diogo Gago said that the pair had entered the rally well: “we entered the first stage confidently and with a good pace, where we would mark the 6th time in Juniors and the best among rookies. We also started with an identical pace in the second special, but in a fast area, the rear of our Peugeot 208 R2 went into the ditch and as these are quite deep, we ended up not being able to avoid going off the road”.
The Peugeot Rally Academy driver said that “despite this misfortune, we tried to repair the car so that we could continue to the service park. Our team did an excellent job in the short time available at the time and that's why we're still in the competition. We are sad about what happened, as we felt confident, but tomorrow there is another day of competition”.
Diogo Gago and Jorge Carvalho would finish the stage in 11th place among the Juniors and this Sunday six more special qualifying tests await us, which will serve as a learning curve for the young Portuguese duo in the snow, on which they are making their debut.
Comments