WRC
Prodrive MINI Rally de Portugal leg 2 summary
Prodrive press release
Edited: Jun 1, 2018, 1:44 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
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.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Citroën Rally de Portugal leg 2 summary
Next article Hayded Paddon Rally de Portugal leg 2 summary
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
John Cooper
Pirelli stars ready to show their pace in Sweden
WRC
WRC
Rally Sweden
Feb 13, 2015
Pirelli stars ready to show their pace in Sweden
Baja Aragón: Quadruple victory for MINI
World Rallycross
World Rallycross Jul 20, 2014
Baja Aragón: Quadruple victory for MINI
Roma, MINI ALL4 Racing ready for the next challenge
Dakar
Dakar Jul 4, 2014
Roma, MINI ALL4 Racing ready for the next challenge
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 13 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 14 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
16 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
17 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe