54. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2021
WRC #4 • WRC2 #4 • JWRC #2 • WRC3 #4 • Portugal #2 • Peugeot Rally Cup Iberia #2 • Taça de Portugal (RC2N) #2
20. 5. – 23. 5. 2021, Matosinhos • Automóvel Club de Portugal • gravel 337.51 km • total distance including road sections - 1514.07 km • Other years
Info
SS20
"It feels good! We perhaps weren't the fastest crew this weekend, but we had really good pace and kept out of trouble and obviously did enough to keep Dani at bay today. It comes at a good time, so I'm happy to take this one.
"I am so happy to come back with second place. I was disappointed not to catch Elfyn today, but he was faster, and when you are faster you win. I am very happy to finish, to give some points for the manufacturers' championship, but also to take podium with Borja [Rozada] on our first event."
"I always take as maximum as I can, so let's see what Elfyn is doing. No one wants to open the road in Sardinia, but let's see what happens. It hasn't been a very pleasant weekend for us, but from a points point-of-view, it's okay."
"Definitely, I stepped forward compared to before. I enjoyed the rally except from today, but this is part of the game. Let's see, I will try to improve on the next one, and we will see in Sardinia. The team are working very, very hard as always."
"Things look good going forwards. It's been a good weekend, we've had some issues, but in terms of the pace and performance, I am really happy. Let's keep it going."
"I didn't want to push in this stage and our tyres are also dead. It was a good weekend for me - it was interesting to open the road yesterday, and it was really good learning with the car. I am really happy, the car was good, and I can only say thank you to M-Sport for the opportunity."
"I don't know what is the difference. It was a good feeling to be back on the pace yesterday. It's almost there, but it seems like we need to wait for another time."
"I don't have anything good to say about this weekend. It was a difficult one. Yesterday, with the technical issue, all our hopes for the points finish were gone. Of course, on the first loop, I was always driving like my grandma. Well, my grandma would be faster! We have to really get our heads together and start being fast again."
"I can't do more. Maybe the car was moving a little too much at some points, but I tried to keep the rhythm. I don't know if it was a good time or if I was over-driving, but It was quite efficient."
"It was really a strong rally from us and our team did an amazing job. We didn't have any problems with the car and on such a rough rally like this, it's very cool. I am very satisfied."
"The result is really good. I am happy that we survived and brought the car home, and we can be happy for second position."
"We never gave up for sure, we were pushing all the way, and we have been experimenting a little bit. We know Sardinia is coming quickly, and we have one week to be at our best. We have made some steps, but we have some thinking to do ahead of next week. It's a shame about the puncture on Friday which didn't allow us to fight, but at least we proved our speed."
"In some stages, we were are trying to improve but the time is not good, so we still have things to work on. I am quite happy that we finished. In this stage I was in safe mode and not pushing at all."
"It's been very good fun. A very difficult event, with a lot to take in with the new car on gravel. There has been a lot of work to get better and better, and the pace has been good to show the speed. Today, I have just been taking it easy after intercom problems in the morning. I wanted to save some tyres for this stage, but my rear tyres were gone a long time ago."
SS19
spin
SS18
"I don't think it will be possible to catch [Østberg]. On this stage we really struggled - I think it's related to the rear tyres, it just snaps a lot. Let's see what we can do on the next one."
"We are doing our best, but I don't feel comfortable. We are still playing with the settings and trying to get into the frame of the car, but we are still outside to be honest. I am not too happy, it frustrates me a little bit. Okay, the pace is not bad, but it could be a lot better."
"It was slippery. We had to put two hard tyres on - we have to do what we have to do."
"Really nice. The grip was a bit higher than I expected, so I could really enjoy it."
"So far so good. The first one this morning was a fairly interesting stage, but things are working okay so we're happy enough."
"I am not really happy with our time in the first stage. The second stage we tried to push, but the car was moving a lot from the rear. It's so difficult to drive - there is no grip at all, I can't do anything. It's like this."
"I am saving the tyres, so we will see when it comes to the power stage. It's always the target to take as much points as we can."
"Just safely through. I don't know what I can do in the power stage, but I tried to find some improvements for the future."
"It's so slippery - I felt like I was stopping the car in places and I just didn't feel like I was carrying the speed, so I've got some work to do in there. Everything is nice and calm and relaxed."
"It's really good. I am struggling with my tyres today and we tried something different, but I think it didn't work. It's part of the game and it's our first time here."
"Hopefully we can enjoy next time. We need to try, so we will try."
"It was quite tricky. It was really good grip on the stage, much more than I was expecting, so I was not pushing so hard. It's going to be a tricky power stage."
"It was a high-speed recce, but a lot of cleaning for the first pass. The second pass should be better."
SS17
gearbox issue
SS16
spin
"It was quite a big push. It was tricky in there - not as much grip as we expected and it's quite a hard surface. Happy enough with that."
"I am not happy. There was some mistakes - it's really a tricky stage. I don't want to make a mistake, but at the same time I want to keep the pressure there."
"It's a tricky stage. I was not really pushing and there is a lot of negative camber in the stage, so it's very easy to lose the car."
"It's just a tricky stage and slippery. Not good driving."
"This stage is really nice - it's like skiing to be honest! It was a clean drive for myself, but I am struggling a lot with my tyres. I think they are just dead now, so it will be a long day."
"It's just driving through at the moment. It's a bit lighter [the helmet] - so power stage spec!"
"I am trying something on the suspension and geometry of the car. On this, I just put the hard tyres across to save the soft. I had to drive this quite slowly."
SS15
"It's been a great day. A bit shame because we got a puncture on one tyre and it was tricky to manage to the end of the loop."
"You do so many donuts! It's five years since I have done donuts with this kind of car. There is all this concrete, so if you do a mistake you have to keep that in mind."
"It feels pretty good. I am shocked that Dani has gone so strong in there! Let's see tomorrow, it's still a tricky day, but today went pretty well."
"I didn't want to lose the engine because I had some problems. I had a good feeling and I tried to do as much as I could. My hours in karting are paying off now!"
"I am pretty happy. It was a very tough day and I had some moments, but I am here and that is the biggest thing. I made a bit of work for the team guys today - so thank you guys and I will see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is important. It was a difficult day for us."
"Extremely, extremely disappointing. What can I do? We will try and get the time back tomorrow."
"It's always difficult because we are fighting in the long stages. I would say it was a good learning to be opening the road, but for sure we have lost a bit of time opening the road for the other drivers."
SS14
turbo
stopped
"I just pushed. Elfyn is going really fast. Honestly, I tried, but I can't."
"On a tight left corner, there was some bedrock on the ground and I went wide. There was a tree, and I slightly hit the tree. Luckily we could survive."
damaged rear right suspension
"Tomorrow is a long day. We decided to save our soft tyres for tomorrow, and he [Katsuta] didn't, so let's see."
"We know what the issue is, but there's nothing I can do about it. When it comes on, it's on - when it goes off, it's off. We've still got tomorrow to have a bit of fun."
"It was the most difficult stage of the rally. With the line, it is really difficult because the wheels are always in the loose. I am learning, and it's interesting to find something to improve the pace, even in these conditions."
throttle pedal issue
mechanical issue
SS13
puncture
throttle pedal issue
SS12
driveshaft
"Not bad now. It helps when you know the road - you can go as fast as the others. As long as the tyres are fine, I am happy. The car should handle it."
"It's okay. It's getting crazy now - it's a little bit rough and we need to get through without problems."
"Clearly some sections and corners are drier than this morning, and some are more rutted. There is some bedrocks on the ruts - nothing crazy huge - but it's fine."
"The stages are a bit rough, so for sure, this will keep us awake. It was a clean run and that's all we need at the moment."
"The feeling was pretty okay. We had mixed tyres on the car and tried to be as clean and as fast as possible."
"I don't know. One time I thought I was punctured. Let's see."
"It's okay, nothing special. I am not so confident in my driving and pace notes on this one. I took it easy on this one and next I will try to take a good time again. Let's see."
"It's a bit more rough than the morning. It's okay, we have a mixed tyre choice like most of the drivers. The only problem is now we are quite far from the podium."
"The balance is always quite okay when it's the second loop and we have grip. There is some cleaning at the end of the second loop for sure, but it's okay."
"We decided to take a bit of a gamble [with the tyres]. It looks risky, but I do believe I can make it work. Everything is going to plan so far - I am trying."
"I would say we are using less the tyres compared to the other drivers. We chose a soft tyre choice, but let's see if it works or not for us."
SS11
puncture
retired for today in service
"At least I could watch the spectators - when you have a very steep uphill and a limited amount of power, it's slowly climbing."
"The first loop has been quite okay. I tried to be very, very smooth on this one and so far the feeling is okay."
"I never did so well in this stage in the past, so I tried to focus on being quite clean. It seemed to be working better at least."
"We are very close in all the stages, and it's fun. It's difficult in this stage with the tyres, I think I lost a bit of time in a couple of places. It's not so bad."
"We have some issues, and we couldn't solve them. We decided to keep going but it didn't sound so good."
"I tried to save the tyre on the Tarmac sections. The rhythm has changed and I am losing a lot of time, so not good driving. I am trying to survive this day, but otherwise it's quite okay."
"The morning has not been good for me. In the two first stages, I did not have the pace I wanted to have. We made some mistakes with our choices this morning, but we will keep fighting."
"I think it's cleaning quite a lot. With three plus one tyre it's never easy to drive, but I tried."
"I missed the braking by maybe 20 or 30 metres, but I buried the throttle and got away with it. I had a few issues with basically having to stop the car, so hopefully we can fix those in service. I can't press the throttle."
"It was just really nice. The stages is amazing - I was enjoying so much. It's time to learn and I tried different things, so I am happy."
SS10
"We need to go flat-out now..."
"We need to just survive until service. It's getting worse and worse - there is no power. It's like there is a crack."
"So so. It's not 100 percent perfect, but very close to it. I can manage - everything is under control."
"The general feeling is better. In this one maybe not so good, but let's see if we can improve over the next loop. Overall, the car is driving smoothly."
"Let's see. It's going to be interesting now, so let's wait and see."
"I was really bad with the tyres. I kept the soft tyres and it was a big mistake. I was feeling I was working the tyres very hard and I was a little bit scared now."
"This one, I had a better feeling in the car. We changed a bit on the car set-up wise, and it worked well. No big risks, but still a good speed."
"It's not the best [tyre] choice. The guys with the full softs behind will be much faster. We didn't have any softs left from yesterday, so we had to save one tyre for tomorrow. Not the easiest one, but it's okay."
"It's going pretty well. I struggled with the car a little bit in there, but it's good enough."
"We fixed the issue, so we are happy. It was just a really nice stage to drive. Maybe not the fastest I can do, but I was just enjoying a lot. I need to adjust the set-up a bit for today, but I am happy."
"It was really horrible. The car was undriveable - I think we have to check because we were sliding everywhere - there might be an issue."
SS9
"We have some issue with the turbo. I don't know - we are not losing too much power, but we need to check it. The strategy is quite difficult."
"Not really tricky in terms of the conditions. I am just not 100 percent happy with the car, but we have to live with that to honest."
"I had a good feeling in the stage. I am much more happy with the car today and it felt much more natural, so it's good."
"All feeling okay. It's a bit mixed in there and the balance is changing all the time with the grip levels. Overall, it was an okay run."
"In the middle of the stage I was a little bit lost because it was foggy. I had some small mistakes in really fast places with the pace notes, but I pushed to the maximum after that."
"It's okay - of course he [Ogier] is seven-times world champion! Very hard and a lot slippier than I expected. I tried to stay on the line and avoid mistakes, but I obviously did it a bit carefully."
"Pretty slippery. I didn't feel super comfortable. I was missing grip, but I guess it's the same for everybody. We need to see if we can do anything with the car."
"I haven't really driven so much with three plus one tyres. I needed to learn it a bit. It was quite a tricky stage."
"I felt I had a really good run there. No issues - the car feels really nice. Happy!"
"The pedal is full throttle all the time, so it was just undriveable. I had to drive in road mode, so it was really slow. I need to check."
"I am with the hard compound tyres, so it's really slippery. I want to save my soft tyres for tomorrow."
SS8
"It's a little bit strange to drive in front of the fans! It's been a demanding day - so much has been happening and so many issues. I am looking forward to a bit of rest before we start again tomorrow."
"I didn't push in here and in the stage before. I got a puncture on the motorway, and now I only have one for the way back to the service park. I don't want any more punctures.
"The feeling is not the best. It's a really tough day, but okay, I enjoyed a lot. I tried a lot of things, and sometimes I was on the limit of the car."
"It's nice to be here - this rallycross track is special for us in front of so many fans. It's been a tough day for me, so I am happy it's over, opening the road. Let's see what we can do tomorrow with a few cars ahead of us."
"Today was not good for us, but tomorrow is going to be really long and tricky. It will be interesting to see - with the tyre choice it's going to be a difficult one."
"I think as soon as Chris [Patterson] came into the car, he showed me the areas I needed to change. We have worked really hard and the progression has been a lot quicker than I expected it to be. I've enjoyed, but it's a shame about the puncture.
"In this stage, the feeling is really good with all the fans, but it was bad driving from my side. Let's see tomorrow."
"It's a big fight with Kajto and all the other drivers, but tomorrow is a long day - I think it's a marathon. Today was a good day for me - I need to work on the car for tomorrow - the slow corners are not easy."
"It was a nice day. As I said, really exciting. The car is working very well and between me and Rossel is not a big gap. The most important thing is to finish this rally. We have good pace - I didn't expect this to be honest.
"There is a lot of fans here, and it's nice to see them back on the stages also. It's been a very difficult day and very long - the last stage especially difficult. Tomorrow will be another really tough day I guess."
"That was so much fun! It's been such a challenging day, but hopefully we can get some time back from when he caught Emil [Lindholm] early on. We're still in the fight for the win, so hopefully we can get there over the next few days."
"It's always nice to have a battle inside the team, and nice to see some audience. In the Arctic, I didn't see and last year I didn't see so much audience. It's so nice to see people.
"Tomorrow I think it depends. We need to count the tyres because it is quite difficult, and on Sunday also."
"It's been a really good day for us, and the day was tricky. A lot of rough places, but still we are in a good place. We lost 10sec in the dust, so let's see if we can get the time back."
"I won it! It was good fun - I tried to put on a show. It was not easy and very slippery - I made two or three mistakes. It was very good."
"I wish I could enjoy it, but I am a little frustrated. It has been a very complicated day, and even without the puncture we wouldn't have the chance to fight - we have some strange things happening. Something is seriously wrong."
"It was very fun to drive. It was a very difficult day for me. I have been struggling with myself. Tonight I will reset my mind and hopefully tomorrow I will be driving better."
SS7
no spare tyre
"I stalled the engine in one part also. I lost a lot because the car didn't start. The tyres are also really bad - I don't have a choice, I can't push because I don't have the materials to push. The tyres are finished."
"It felt terrible - I just really struggled in there, at least it's only run once."
stalled
"I don't know - it's a new stage. It's nice, but very slippery. I had a bank maybe twice and lost some time, but I will try to study tomorrow again but try to push also."
spin + puncture
"We had issues with the other tyres, so we had to use the soft. A really, really difficult day with bad luck, but at least that's one less difficult stage."
"I had a pace note which was really too fast. When I saw the corner, it didn't work out. I tried to correct, but there was something like a tree stump which pulled us to the side. We are going to see if we can repair it."
"Very bad - the worst of the day. I am not sure which position I will have yet, so let's see. Tomorrow should be at least better than today."
accident
SS6
“I’m not sure where we puncture but I think it was on the line in a rut with some bedrock.”
puncture
puncture
"It feels quite bad - it's not really a rally where you can enjoy the stages, it's all about the competition. I am not able to have a rhythm in the stages and I need to sort this out, because I can not continue to do a full rally like this. "
"I just need to drive slow, because I had a problem with two tyres on the front in the first stage. Something really weird. It went out of the top of the tyres and I can't use them any more. I need to take care and try to manage to finish."
"I am quite happy with this time, because it's basically my first pass after this morning. That's quite respectable, but we're not quite as close on the two stages this afternoon."
"The stage is really nice and we have good pace, but I stalled one time in a hairpin and I have to lift on the straight parts because I have an issue with the engine. I hope we will be able to finish the loop."
"It's okay, but I had a puncture on the previous one so I lost a tyre and I am a bit limited now."
"It's not easy out there. If I am behind Thierry then it's not a good time. Let's say it's not just fitting like a glove - it probably needs a bit of tweaking here and there."
"I had a very clean stage again. I am not sure I can go much faster because then I will start sliding too much and I want to be efficient.
"I don't even know what position I have now. I don't think I have done badly. It would be nice to have some cars ahead of me tomorrow, otherwise it will be difficult weekend for us."
SS5
driveshaft
off road
stopped
SS4
steering arm
driveshaft
off road
"We will just try to go through without any drama. It's very easy to get into trouble, so that's the plan."
"I didn't change a lot. The end was not so good, but we will try to do better in the next one."
"The car feels good. It was disappointing with the puncture - I'm getting close to that first stage win, but it's starting to annoy me, so I need to get it soon!"
"It's nice - I am enjoying this rally. I need to improve on small mistakes and things. It's getting rough and rocks are coming on the line, so it's quite tricky."
"We have altered something on the settings of the car and it was helping for sure. We just need to find the set-up for the first loop."
"We need to get through - that's the first thing."
"We expected the roads to be rougher, so we have to go out with hard tyres on the car. The car is feeling well - I am surprised and I didn't expect that so I am happy."
SS3
"It was full of dust and I couldn't see anything. I couldn't drive."
"The car hit a rock on the road and there was nothing I could do really. We had to stop and change it.
changed a puncture
"Step by step. We made some adjustments before this stage and before the middle stage, but the road surface is strange. There is no grip and on this one there was a lot of surprises."
"It was a bit difficult. We already improved a bit, but it's not enough - we need to keep working."
"We had a different way to manage the tyres. This stage was slippery - it looks like the time is not so bad."
puncture
"I understand that now I need to be in the lines of the other drivers to keep the traction and grip all the time. I think that one was a pretty good time."
"It's going to be tricky this afternoon. In some sections I need to push. Some sections are just so slippery because the surface is so smooth - it's not easy."
"I was trying to do the best I can, but I am struggling with the car way too much now. I just didn't get the feeling - these roads are a bit different. It's bad, really bad."
"I tried to manage the tyres. I hope we can find a better feeling in the afternoon."
"It's difficult because the hard [tyre] has no grip and the soft [tyre] is moving a lot. We will try and work our way around it as much as possible, but it's not working so easily."
"Generally, we can be quite satisfied with the morning. With this one, I wasn't able to push to the maximum. It was really slippery, and I just didn't feel it."
"I don't know. Normally it is worse [in the afternoon]. We will keep trying - but there is not much we can do."
SS2
"I don't know. Normally it is worse in the afternoon. We will keep trying - but there is not much we can do."
off road
stopped
"It was quite good - the car is working well and now with the co-driver it's much better than the first stage. I tried to not push so much, because I don't know what tyres we need to use again."
"That felt pretty good. I felt the tyres overheating, so I was just trying to manage it, but it looks like I was a little too cautious in places."
"The [other] guys know this stage well. I was losing the soft tyres after 5km before the end of the stage, so I was careful at the end. I was just enjoying."
"The conditions are getting better. I made a lot of mistakes, so not so good driving. It could be a lot better so I will try to improve."
"Not happy. It's really difficult with the soft tyres. The car is so soft and there is a lot of understeering for me. We are struggling with the car a lot and I am not happy with the time."
"We need to improve a lot - it feels like we are fighting [the car] a lot."
"It's not so easy. The soft tyres are moving around quite a lot, but it's okay."
"I had a good stage. I had a very clean stage, actually. Maybe I could have pushed a bit more, but the tyres are moving quite a lot. I tried to find the right balance between the grip and the movement in the car."
SS1
"I don't know. I feel so uncomfortable to be back on gravel and I feel like I don't understand what I am doing! I am just trying to be sensible in my driving."
"It feels a bit - let's say - not rough, but drier than expected. You couldn't really push flat out."
"I did a clean stage, but I don't like the car. We need to work a bit with the [damper] clicks. We took it carefully."
"I was too careful and I lost too much time."
"I stalled the engine in a hairpin. It was okay, but it was not easy and there was a little understeer all the time. It's okay."
"The ideas we came up with on the test seem to have brought this car alive for me. We'll keep going."
"It is amazing! Enjoying a lot in the stages - it's just brilliant. You can slide and keep the speed. Not a perfect drive from me, but I was enjoying and I know where I can improve my pace."
"Some sections were slippier than I expected. In some sections I was too careful, but it's tricky."
"We had a stall in the stage and a spin. The engine stopped as well."
"It was all okay - but we needed to be a bit careful in a few places."
"I was surprised. I wasn't so happy after shakedown. In here we had quite good grip and I could play with the car."
"The soft tyres are moving a lot, so I struggled to find the rhythm, but I pushed more towards the end."