50. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2016
19. 5. – 22. 5. 2016, Matosinhos • Automóvel Club de Portugal • gravel 368.00 km • total distance including road sections - 1688.40 km • Other years
Info
SS19
"I had another puncture, so two and only one spare. Luckily it was a slow puncture and I was able to get enough air in for the stage."
"An almost perfect weekend - huge thanks to my team. We made the most of the position we were in and I couldn't have done any more. It shows the DS 3 is still a great car. For me too it's another step. I'm really, really excited about 2017!"
"I tried to avoid all the rocks here! I'm very happy with my performance - probably one of my best. It's really nice to win a fight with Seb in similar conditions."
"We had some issue before the start again, so I'm happy to be here. What was the issue? I'll tell you at the Service Park."
"A difficult rally, but really good points for the championship."
"I have no handbrake, and I was too fast. Fifth here is very good. A great surprise. Fabulous!"
"A big push here, I can't do better than that. If somebody is quicker than me then they deserve it."
"The weekend was good. I'm happy to be back in the top 10. Without such a rally focus this year it's not been easy. I have to work hard to be ready for Sardinia."
SS18
"A lot of rocks around in the first section so I had to be careful."
. "I thought I had a puncture on the front-right. I was worried it wouldn't turn in. When I realised it was okay I pushed on a bit more."
"I really enjoyed this stage. When everything works properly it's great."
"A lot nicer to drive than earlier today. I went for a harder set-up this time."
His driver
SS17
"I just need to do my job. A clean stage but a nose-heavy landing which was no so nice."
"The handbrake isn't working, but it's okay, there are not so many hairpins here."
"A little too sideways in places. I think we can be quicker on the second pass."
"Good fun. The jumps are amazing, I want to go higher next time."
"Always a nice stage this one but I'm finding it difficult to get into a rhythm."
damaged suspension on jump
"The one before was my worst stage of the rally so far - no confidence. This one was a bit better."
"I'm driving okay but I struggle with the rear of the the car here."
"Tricky first on the road. The car is fine. A pleasure to drive here."
SS16
"Maybe a bit too cautious. When you drive like this the car doesn't work as it should."
"Quite tricky. Patches of mud making the grip difficult. I drove a cautious stage but for sure Mikkelsen is on a push. I have time in my pocket so I'll use it."
front-right punture
"I tried to push like yesterday. The grip was good. Happy enough with the stage but I was too careful. I'll try to be more aggressive on the next one."
"I'm looking at the guys ahead fighting, you never know what will happen. No risks from me today."
"I drove bad. I've not driven this stage before and have never driven in conditions like this."
"A nice stage but I was too aggressive. The rear of the car was sliding around. I couldn't find the grip."
"A nice stage I think. Slippery in places but good fun."
"Conditions are really slippery. Not nice. It's difficult to find a rhythm. Not really an easy Sunday."
"Good. A difficult stage because of the rain but we didn't want to take too many risks."
"Muddy and very slippery, every corner is tricky. There are puddles of water in some places."
"I do my best."
"Okay, but today is a strange day, how to fill the day and deal with the disappointment. I'm looking forward to Sardinia."
"I didn't have a good feeling in there, I need to check the car."
SS14
Stopped. Probably rolled according to Solberg.
"I couldn't do more - I was caught in Tidemand's dust for 10km."
Puncture.
"A strange smell - transmission oil I think - in the car after a big impact. Also a front-right puncture."
"Better than the opening stage but still difficult with two spares."
"Learning more about the set-up of the car for these stages."
"It took a long time for the tyres to warm up."
"A good run. A few places where I had to be careful in the rocks but I'm happy."
"Like before I felt this one was a bit better."
"Close to a perfect stage that one. Really enjoyable."
"A good stage. Pushing very hard. Very happy with my performance."
"Never easy on the second loop. I'm happy with the car and my driving. Nothing to complain about."
SS13
stopped in SS in same place as Al-Qassimi
"Very rough in the ruts, stones sticking out everywhere. No risks."
"Not so bad. A better tyre choice than the first loop so I'm happy with this. Still angry about losing time this morning with two punctures."
"A clean stage. No dramas. I'm trying to keep going like this."
"It's all about keeping this place now."
"A bit of a safer approach. The car is higher, and we're carrying two spare wheels, which affects the balance. This stage was narrow and rough in places. We're taking care."
"Pretty good, eh? Everything is okay. I'm happy."
"Really rough. A lot of stones. I just try to manage the car. Not so nice."
stopped in SS 3,4 km into stage
"There was a big rut in the last junction - just 500 metres before the finish. It didn't really disturb me."
"My car is good but I can't match those times, it's impossible."
"A really, really good stage for us."
"Four-wheel-drive again now. Pushing quite hard."
"Less rough than yesterday but still rougher than this morning."
SS12
"Really good to be honest. I'm on the limit. Happy with my drive. I couldn't do more than that."
"Pretty good. Nice and relaxed today. The stage is definitely cleaning. It's an advantage and I'm going to make the most of it."
"Disaster. First we had a puncture. We stopped to change it, then I missed a pace note, went off and hit a tree. We damaged the rear of the car. For sure it's fixable."
SS7
"We had a really good morning, then this afternoon we got a slow puncture on the second stage. I took it really carefully here to make sure I didn't get another."
"There's something happening at the rear - perhaps a broken roll bar. After Pontus' performance this morning, it doesn't look like it's going to be our weekend."
"I must give Kris Meeke credit for what he has done today - this rally is a car crusher."
"It's been good. There's a good atmosphere in the car, I'm enjoying it. A perfect day up to now. Okay, I expect we'll lose a bit of time on the final stage because we don't have the soft tyres. There's still a bit of confusion about the time on the cancelled stage. I'll leave that to the team to resolve."
"I want to go fast, but with so many stones it is impossible."
left front puncture
off road
"I'm really pleased that we are here despite the damage. With no power steering you are fighting with the car. Nobody has the power to drive these cars like this - the steering racks now are so quick. One time I thought we would go off. After that I had to back off."
stopped
He has a front left "It happened in the middle of the stage. I don't know where exactly."
SS6
no power steering "It's important to try and keep going. The problem is the ruts, they are so hard on my hands - shaking so much."
"It was good. I had only two soft [tyres] for this stage and all-softs would have been better."
"Very difficult. Better conditions than the previous stage but I expect to lose time here."
SS5
after the roll the bushes around caught fire and the car burned down
rolled
"No power steering - we hit a hole after the midpoint and lost the oil."
SS4
He lost five minutes unblocking a crushed exhaust pipe and now has a turbo problem.
"The first stage was very difficult. A log of fog on the recce and my notes were no good."
"Not good. We got caught behind Suarez in the opening stage when he had a puncture."
"We rolled on the previous stage, I made a mistake - that's part of the game. The bonnet and windscreen are damaged but the car is okay. A lot of dust in the car though. I cannot breathe!"
"I think we broke a suspension arm in the back, we took it very easy."
"A good loop for us. A puncture on the previous stage cost us 20sec but overall I'm satisfied."
"I have no explanation for the first stage - perhaps I was too careful - but now it's okay. I can go faster but I don't yet feel 100 per cent."
"I'm really enjoying it. Good fun to be back on a grippy road. The tyre guys have made a big step forward."
"The car is not good to drive at the moment. I'm struggling with understeer. I did what I could."
"An unbelievable stage. Everything is perfect. Thanks to the team for making such a great car for this stage!"
"I drove over a huge rock in the road. A scary moment. I couldn't avoid it. A big bang!"
"The surface is very loose and the car is over-steering a lot. I'm not 100 per cent happy with the gearbox but we are trying."
"Not so bad considering we have a small problem with the diff. It's enough to unsettle the balance of the car. We're trying to drive around it."
"I could lose easily 15sec here. There is lots of loose gravel - it's like driving on balls. I'm happy with my driving though - I tried my best."
SS3
"Really struggling with the feeling here and now I have a bigger problem - I don't have a clutch."
"Okay but not perfect. I feel the rear sliding a lot but our time is better. I don't really know why."
"A shorter stage, surprisingly slippery but better than the first one. The tyres lasted well."
"I can't find a good feeling with the car. It's not working so I do what I can. I know what to do, but we have to wait until service."
"Really, really slippery in places. I lost time near the end avoiding a big, big stone in the road."
"Alright, but a bit careful in places. Not on the limit but a good pace. Very slippery though - a shocker in places."
"Not good at all. Very slippery. No grip at all. Like ice in places. I think there's something wrong with the car's diff too. One more stage until service."
"All okay, no problem so far. I didn't expect so much humidity though - that took me a bit by surprise."
Stopped at 14.4 km point - broken steering arm.
"I pushed absolutely all I could. I have problems with my downshift ."
SS2
stopped
"Quite good but the road is cutting up quite a lot in there. It wasn't a clean run either - four or five small errors."
"I'm very happy. I have a good feeling with the car. Good notes. Not the best rhythm yet but all under control."
"Interesting. There were a lot of big stones and sometimes I had to change the lines and that took me out of the rhythm."
"For the first stage that was not so bad. Getting better and better. "
"Everything was okay but I was too careful. I saw too many stones and didn't take enough cuts. I can go faster. Getting back my confidence. For sure I can go a lot faster."
"We lost quite a lot there - I think the tyre gave up after 10 or 15km. These are new tyres, we have a lot to learn."
"It was difficult start for me and not the best feeling. Set up was not really good for those conditions."
"I lost time at the end. I wanted to save the tyres and didn't take too many risks - it was OK overall."
"Okay, a clean stage, no big mistakes."
"I pushed quite hard and I was happy with my stage. It's a surprise to see the time."
"The grip is good but the engine doesn't feel right to me - like it's not pulling properly."
"A good stage because the conditions are not bad. There's more grip than I expected so I don't have the right set-up - it's too soft. Too much understeer. Yesterday's boost problem is all sorted."