Prodrive MINI Rally de Portugal leg 2 summary

Sordo Sets The Pace While Sandell Eyes Podium

Daniel Sordo and Carlos Del Barrio, Mini John Cooper Works WRC, Prodrive MINI WRC TEAM

Photo by: Prodrive

4th 52 P. SANDELL

13th 37 D. SORDO

Dani Sordo ended day two of Rally Portugal having set the fastest time in each of the day’s three stages. Running first on the road under Rally 2, Sordo was able to reclaim almost three minutes from the overall leader, moving his #37 car up into 13th by the end of the day.

Building on his strong debut at Rally Sweden, Patrik Sandell coped well with the conditions and posted consistent times to end the day with his #52 car in 4th. Sandell currently holds a 19 second lead over Czech driver Martin Prokop.

Sordo re-entered the event today under Rally 2. This followed the failure of an alternator terminal on stage two. This lead to a drop in voltage and as a result the car went into a safe mode, automatically turning off the lights to conserve power and enabling the car to complete the stage. Sordo was unable to contest the next two stages and the car was returned to service, where the fault was repaired.

Dave Wilcock, team principal:

Obviously the electrical problem Dani had yesterday was disappointing. Fortunately it was a simple fix and the car was as good as new for today's stages.

With the torrential rain over night and light rain showers throughout the morning, Dani capitalised on his road position. However, comparing his performance to those around him it’s clear he was driving extremely well and showed the performance of the car on gravel stages.

Tomorrow's stages look equally tricky although slightly different in nature and not quite so rough, but very fast and technical, which should suite us.

Patrik, drove very steadily (safely) today. He is driving a little bit cautiously at the moment, but from seventh on the road conditions were deteriorating. He was struggling to find his rhythm in the first part of the day, but by the time he had finished the third stage he was happy and up to speed. He is confident in the car and up to speed with his new co-driver. Both cars are in a good position for tomorrow.

Dani Sordo:

The conditions were difficult as it was very slippery, but the car with the Michelin tyres and everything else was working very well.

I’m amazed with the amount of time that I managed to pull out on each stage. Starting first helped, but I am not sure it was enough to make us over a minute quicker than most of the opposition.

This morning I told Carlos that we needed to set the best times as we are first on the road, so I pushed hard, but this was very quick.

Patrik Sandell:

I realised that today would be about surviving and trying to find speed without making mistakes. I lost quite a bit of time on the first stage. However, I was happy with my rhythm and felt that this was still the best approach. To be in fourth place at the end of day 2, up from 11th this morning means it has been an absolutely perfect start to the rally for us.