Such was Kalle Rovanpera's pace advantage in RallyPortugal that his nearest WRC rival Dani Sordo felt that he was driving an R5 car in a lower category.
Rovanpera claimed a ninth career WRC victory in Portugal and his first of the season after dominating the rough gravel rally to defeat Hyundai’s Sordo by 54.7s.
After converting a difficult road position into 10.8s lead at the end of Friday, Rovanpera won five of seven stages on Saturday, including a stunning effort on stage nine where he was 12.8s faster than anyone else.“You feel like you're driving an R5 car, in a different category,” said Sordo when asked for this thoughts upon seeing the time.“We know he can always go a little bit more and he can go ‘ciao bang’ [and there is the time].
Podium: Winner Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, second place Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1, third place Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1“We could see that the gap was huge. But it’s always these type of things happen.
Reflecting on his best result to date driving a Rally1 car, Sordo was pleased with the podium which he dedicated to his late team-mate“The feeling is very well,” he added. “Saturday morning, I was losing a little bit of time and I make a small mistake at a hairpin and lose time there. But, in the afternoon, we pushed more and it was much better. I can be happy for the weekend.
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