55. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2022
WRC #4 • WRC2 Open #4 • WRC2 Junior #4 • WRC2 Masters #4 • WRC3 Junior #3 • WRC3 Open #4 • Portugal #4 • Portugal 2RM #4 • Peugeot Rally Cup Iberia #3
19. 5. – 22. 5. 2022, Matosinhos • Automóvel Club de Portugal • gravel 338.34 km • total distance including road sections - 1522.89 km • Other years
Info
SS21
At the moment it seems we are on a really good drive. Starting first on the road here and to fight for the win was really nice. A big thanks to Jonne and also the team - we saw a lot of tough conditions and our car was perfect as always. Everybody can be really happy."
"We definitely needed a result, that's for sure. Of course, we're disappointed with the outcome of today, but I take my hat off to Kalle. From my side, it's nice to be back on the podium and we should be able to build from here."
"Big congrats to Dani. I am so sorry for the team. I tried, but obviously it was not enough and I am just not good enough. I will try to improve more, but I have no words to be honest."
"I gave it my best. I don't know what will happen. Taka deserves it and we also deserve it. We haven't been so quick in the stages all weekend so to finish third would be nice, but I want to be quick for all the weekend."
"I gave it everything, but I had no aerodynamics and I had a couple of moments where I lost the car. I think we can congratulate Toyota for their strong result this weekend and for their reliability. It was also great to see the old cars and drivers back this weekend - they have done a great job and every rally should be like this."
"On the previous stage we lost the splitter and on the beginning of this one we pulled some sand into the air intake, so there was no power. Nothing new..."
"We can be happy. We had an issue with the brake, a bit like Craig but not as serious. Thanks to the team because the car was great and everybody was behind me. Now we go to Sardinia with a good road posiition, so I think we will be able to do some good things."
"It seems like a problem with one of the calipers. Like I said - it's disappointing. It's something that popped its head up yesterday evening and we didn't think it was going to be that much of a problem today."
"It's really good to drive the whole weekend. We can be happy, and the car has been fantastic with no issues all weekend. It's great to be here."
"We put ourselves in the position to fight on Friday, but Saturday just wasn't our day and today was a high-speed recce."
"It's part of the game and it was a difficult weekend for us. We can only use this experience for the next time on gravel, but two events this year and two times we are out of contention for the win. We did our best up until the end and we had a compromised hybrid for this stage, so not so much boost."
"It's just a shame for him and I'm sorry. Second place would have been a good result, but now we have a win. I think we have a lot of work to do on the car and me for Sardinia, but the whole team is motivated and it's a good result for our championship."
Off road
SS20
Brakes issues
SS19
"It was not easy - it was getting foggier all the time and raining a bit more, but it's like this. Let's see on the second pass. In our position, it's not so comfortable to go flat-out everywhere, but we'll try to be fast and clever."
"I'm just trying to focus on doing the best we can. We're still not so far away, but realistically [Kalle] needs to do something a bit wrong now. We'll keep the pressure on."
"I am enjoying it a lot and this stage was very nice. I need to push a lot, but it's good. These kind of things don't happen often, so it's nice to fight and have fun."
"I am also watching out for Thierry! He is coming very fast. I think it's very important to bring both cars home, but I will try and fight for the position with Taka."
"In the first stage we lost the front splitter, so I am losing a bit of the aerodynamics in the fast sections. We are here and we continue to push - it's not easy, but anything can happen."
"I haven't been here for four years, so we're losing lots of time in places. The car was much better in there and I'm reasonably happy."
"It's always nice to drive this stage. I have a problem with the steering - it's a bit stiff when turning left. It started on the road section before here."
"Let's see. Obviously the Toyotas have been in another league and we are still some time away in terms of performance, but we will see what we can do."
"I didn't use the grip enough, but the goal is for me to finish. I am enjoying and this stage was nice."
"The stages are nice and it's nice to do it in slightly different weather! The grip in there was a lot lower than the other two stages, so it was quite tricky in places."
"I think it's great. I was focused on the road, but it's always a beautiful stage. The conditions are a little damp and of course it is going to get quicker. At the moment we are working on getting a good feeling in the car and trying to get a good set-up."
SS17
"I like it when it's in our hands. Let's continue like this - it was a tricky stage, but I pushed a bit."
"I don't think I was quite as on it as the run from last year. Let's see - I'm sure Kalle will do a good job also."
"I was trying but it's not really working well. I was a bit too careful maybe - I don't know."
"It's okay. I didn't drive very good, but I tried my best."
"I didn't have such a good run in there. I was too early in the brakes and probably a bit too cautious, but it's just the beginning of the day."
"It's all good..."
"We are on used tyres, unfortunately. The time is not important - we want to go to the end and build the confidence."
"It's better grip than normal. We are really struggling with the gear change today - there is not cut, so it will be a long day."
"I don't have any more softs left, so I took two new hards just for mechanical grip. I didn't want to push on that one so I just took it safe and got through."
"It's not so bad and there's a lot of grip. It's to say whether it will get worse for the guys coming behind."
"There's a dampness and it's okay, actually. The grip is fine for me and I tried to enjoy. We are going try some different set-ups and learn some more with the car."
SS16
"That's quite good. I tried my best today and it's been really good for us."
"We could have done a bit more in places, but that's how it is. The rain didn't help us in the long one and Kalle has driven really well. That's how it is - we have to keep the pressure on and see what's possible."
"It was tricky to know if we would get rain or not on this stage because I am not a meteorologist! It was better - we had all hard tyres, so it was quite slippery, but hopefully the time is okay."
"It's good. I tried to be clean and I made no mistakes. I need to understand how to drive the car because I am struggling a little bit to understand. I like this stage."
"We did a pretty okay job today. Of course, we were under pressure from Dani and we had to push a lot, but we were able to manage the car and tyres as well."
"We put the hard tyres on the rear and it was undriveable, but it's like this."
"It was like driving on ice and we have two hard tyres so it wasn't easy. I enjoyed this one because it is slow and you can't do anything wrong, it's just about precision. A frustrating weekend so far, but we'll see what happens tomorrow and maybe we can push for a podium."
"It was incredibly difficult but we managed to get through."
"I think it was the slowest stage I have ever done. It was so slippery and so slow. I think Tänak doesn't have the same tyres as me, and with more cars the grip will be better. I think some Rally2 cars will be fast."
"It was terrible - very slow. We are here and we are fine, so it's all okay."
SS15
"For sure, Kalle has been strong. I think we had the worst of it in here and it was raining very heavily for us. I had a very close moment with a tree near the start which wasn't nice, so that didn't help."
"That sounds good. Really tricky with the hard tyres because the stage was getting wet in the middle part. A trouble-free day again, so we can be happy."
"It's raining a lot and I tried to change my style of driving, but it looks like it's not gone to plan!"
"It was very challenging. In the beginning we had no rain, but then there was a lot and at the same time the Tarmac section was full of rain. It was not so enjoyable and it smells so bad because something is melting in the car."
Stopped
"It was really bad with the wipers. I am happy to be at the end because it was very difficult."
"The rain and the dust was hanging, but I had a very smooth and clean drive. The car was working fine and I made some changes before the stage. I always stayed in the clean line and that pays at the end."
Puncture
"I just tried to manage it as best I could. It wasn't easy, and I had some really bad dust in some places as well."
"The rain was okay for me, I wasn't in trouble with that. It's a really nice stage to drive but it's difficult for the body and for the car. I am quite positive - it was a good stage for me."
"Now it's cleaning. The hard base and line is coming out."
SS14
Puncture
"It's all okay, nice feeling so i'm happy."
"Very slippy, specially in the end. I struggled to get the line of Ott, enjoyed the stage. Tyres are gone."
"All okay, tricky conditions - rain, no rain. In the end it was okay, with the hard tyres it was quite abrasive in there."
"It was pretty okay, I was a bit careful, I can see it from the time."
"Felt okay, good time from Kalle. Quite slippery, but all okay."
Suspension on road section
SS13
Steering arm
"Difficult. It was quite slippery, but I felt the stage went okay. That was a pretty good run from Kalle."
"Nothing too crazy. I pushed like normal, but I only when I know there is a smooth road. It's pretty okay, but I also know that we need to keep this place."
"It was wet at the end and I was over driving too much, but I enjoyed it a lot."
"I tried to keep the position, but just when we got to the start a lot of rain came and it made it very tricky. We had a Tarmac section and that was also very slippery, but we tried to manage it."
Rear-right wheel damaged
"I went through a left-hander and thought there was a soft bank, but there was something hard hidden in the bank."
"It was okay. I tried to do a good run and there was more grip than expected, but in some places it wasn't good enough."
"The last five kilometres it was raining and it got more heavy. The road wasn't too badly affected, but the visibility was very bad. We are here."
"I made some changes to the car, but I'm still not 100 per cent happy. I still feel like we've got work to do, but we're going in the right direction."
"It wasn't too bad at the end of the stage, but the beginning was difficult to drive. On the longer stage we can correct this."
"The second loop is a bit more tricky, but it was okay."
SS12
"It was not easy. The sand was really thick in places and it was difficult to get traction. It's so difficult to know if you're doing well or not - you just have to trust your rhythm and go from there."
"It didn't work out so well with the tyres. We had two used ones from yesterday and it was already on the limit."
"It was really demanding and we have very little grip. Taka is driving very well - he's doing amazing stages, so he deserves it."
"Very hot! It's not nice in the car, but otherwise it's okay. We had hard tyres on the front."
"I didn't have very much grip, that's for sure. I don't really know what more I could have done, but it's not ideal. A bit of a disaster morning."
"Wrong tyre choice - we are on full hard. There is no traction and it's impossible to do anything. The rally is still long and a lot of things can happen."
"We had a very good stage to be honest. The car was working fine, but it's getting more and more loose and sandy. I enjoyed the run and I think we did the maximum we could do."
"Really bad - I was having to slow down in so many places. A bit of a disaster to be honest."
"I don't know how it happened. I don't know which corner, so I hope I don't do the same on the next loop. I think I also have another rear right puncture, so let's see."
"The tyres were good - it was just very, very loose with no line. It's fully dry and challenging, but all okay?"
Changed a punture
SS11
"I think it was a clean and tidy run, but we weren't pushing enough, unfortunately."
"Now the rear tyres are quite bad for us, so it's not easy. I think Elfyn has better tyres, but I am sliding a lot and it's not easy to be clean."
"I tried to do my maximum but I don't have a lot of traction with the car. I am spinning the wheels all the time, but I don't know. Taka looks like he is fast."
"It was okay. The rear was moving a bit - I tried to put a very bad soft tyre on the front to keep the good soft tyres for the next stage. The long one will be interesting and it will be a real challenge."
"I am on hard tyres and I struggled so much. I made a silly mistake again. With this tyre in these conditions it's tricky, but we will continue."
"It's the hard tyres. It was a really bad choice, for sure. I think the next one will be too sandy [for the tyres to work], unfortunately."
"I expected much more grip, but it's so slippery. I had two moments and after that I decided to back off, so it was not so comfortable."
"With two hards on the front I really struggled. I'm trying to manage the but it's very difficult."
"I just made a small mistake and we had to reverse and go back. The rest of it was a clean stage for me."
"I did not push at all. It's really loose and the car is very difficult to drive. We are trying to understand what we need to do to be fast."
"I lost the power. I have around 100 horsepower maybe, and I stopped in the stage to try and reset. I made a full reset but it was still the same. We need to check what it is."
Spin
Accident
Mechanical
SS10
Changed a puncture
"It was pretty okay. It's slippery out there and there's a fine balance between pushing too much and not enough. With the surface being so slippery it's hard to find the balance."
"It seems to be close then! I just tried to start the morning well, but it was slippier in here than I expected. I was maybe not clean enough in places - I was wide here and there - but with the second spare wheel, it was tricky."
"I have full soft tyres for this stage and it was moving a little bit with not a lot of grip. I tried to do my best but I am quite happy with the car. I am trying to keep the other drivers behind."
"I'm quite surprised. I was just trying to have a clean run, but the car is working very well and the engineers did a great job."
"It happened towards the beginning."
"We had a spin and the feeling wasn't good. I don't know, I was sliding everywhere."
"It felt good. Obviously I have one hard tyre on the car which is not optimal for this stage, but I had a very good stage."
Puncture
"I struggled with the front of the car. I had two hards on the front and I couldn't get a rhythm at all."
"The conditions are really nice and I was enjoying the stage. To have an eight-time world champion starting in front of me is interesting - the lines are quite good, so I need to follow them for the next one!"
"In the end, it doesn't really matter. We are early on the road and softs seem to be an okay choice."
"So far so good with the tyre choice. We will see at the end of the loop, but we tried to drive, otherwise it's a bit annoying when you don't have any targets."
"Very difficult and much more humid than I expected. Our tyre choice is not good - I had two hards and that was not the best I think. Okay, we are here."
SS9
Engine
"There's something wrong with the engine and it's running on three cylinders and missing a lot of power. I tried to keep the corner speed good, but on every straight it's down on power and also coming out of the corners."
"Our day has been pretty good. The pace has been on the top, but unfortunately we got the puncture on a hairpin. I don't know what I could have done differently, but that's rallying."
"They were really difficult conditions and I tried to keep the car on the road and not have any problems. Okay, we are here, so let's see what's happening tomorrow."
"We had really good confidence for the second pass, but we had a puncture. After that we just drove through the stages because we didn't have any more spare tyres and I didn't want to retire."
"Pretty happy to be here - there were some extreme conditions and everybody was trying to pick their way through. It was a lottery at times. You can always say you could have gone faster, but would you still be here? I don't know. It's always difficult to say."
"It was a good day. The last two years were difficult - I was most of the time 2sec per km behind and sometimes I was starting to thinking it was all because of me. Tomorrow we have a long way to go but it should be good."
"Very tough day. I didn't expect this much toughness, but tomorrow we still have long stages. I will try to enjoy and stay on the road."
Puncture
"How do you get a puncture in a super special without touching anything? We can get back to service."
"It's been incredibly tough for everybody, but we're at the end of it. We had so many problems, but the speed has been good. That's the most important thing, so I'm happy with that."
"Very demanding day. We have been carrying some technical trouble with the transmission and some punctures as well. It's been so, so challenging, but we are here."
"It was not what we expected, but we were doing a really good job today. The team prepared the car to be strong in these conditions and that's also important. It's good to be strong and fast."
"We could have been in the fight for the lead, but we got hit again with technical issues. It's frustrating - I can not do more than I am doing and we are always missing points at the end of the year, mainly due to small technical issues."
SS8
"It was very thick sand and it was quite dodgy, in some places there was no grip at all. We're here."
"For me, it just made the car impossible to drive because I've not got any tread anywhere else. It's disappointing."
"It's hard work! It's really tough in the ruts and the car is bouncing a lot. Not so fun to drive, but we are here so we are happy."
Off road
"I was just driving through and getting it home."
"I need to check the car..."
"I lost a wheel on the road section - I had to fix it but I had a damaged driveshaft!"
Small off
Driveshaft issue
"It was slippery, as expected. I don't know how much it will clean for the guys behind, but it was not easy to fast. I think we did quite a good job. Quite a tough day with a lot of dust in the car."
SS7
Suspension
Punctures
Puncture
"I am happy to have four wheels on the car because there are rocks everywhere. I am scared to get a puncture because I have no spare wheel. We are still here and we will continue."
"We tried to survive and it was very rough. I pushed a bit less than the previous one and, as you can see, the time is worse."
"Probably not the perfect stage. The car was working well but I was maybe a bit too careful. It's possible to go a lot faster, but okay."
"Honestly, I don't know. I think we were just unlucky with one sharp rock. We were doing a good job of keeping it in the line, so it's frustrating."
"The feeling is good with the car, but the last stage was really rough. Hopefully this will help in the future."
Puncture
Puncture, retired
"I have no hybrid for the whole stage. Not quite sure what's wrong there and we're obviously trying to manage the spare [wheel] as well, so it's not easy."
Puncture
"I had no tyres. We have two softs in the boot which will be good for the next one, but we needed to keep some hards."
"This one was a bit better but we are scooping a lot of dust into the car. Sometimes you can't really breathe or see anything, but it's all good."
SS6
Steering
"This is what I expected. The conditions were really difficult and we don't have any more spare tyres, so we need to get through the stages. We are here with four wheels."
"It's strange because we were trying to avoid the punctures! Oh well, this is quite okay!"
"I tried to be as clean as possible but it was so, so rough. Very difficult to know what to do for most of it to be honest - it was bad in there."
"It's rough. I was really careful."
"Just in the beginning on the rough section. The tyre came off the rim and we had to stop."
"This stage is completely destroyed. I could have got it in about 150 places because there's boulders everywhere. It's a lottery."
"I was too far inside and hooked the ditch too much. I had to stop because there was a steep ditch. The stages are in very bad condition so I don't know who can enjoy this rally."
"That was genuinely one of the roughest stages I've ever come across. I just tried to keep a rhythm, but after two more tyres I think the tyres are going to be shot. Let's just get through it."
Changing a puncture
Spin
Puncture
"Really rough. I was very cautious at the beginning because we have a lot of deep ruts and I don't want to damage the tyres."
"It's way too rough in the beginning. It's like being in Turkey and it's not nice to drive."
Changing a puncture
SS5
Suspension
Steering
"Really tricky, but it was already like this for us before. In some places I don't take many risks because there are a lot of stones in the middle of the road."
"I tried to do well and I feel more and more comfortable with the car. It's good."
Puncture
"It was pretty rough in there. Quite tricky and difficult to know where or how much to push, really."
"Let's see what Elfyn is doing. The car feels a little bit better and the grip is higher. It will be a hard afternoon and tough for tyres, so let's see what we can do."
"It felt okay. At the beginning I missed the line a few times and definitely gave away a few seconds, but other than that it was okay."
"It's quite rough, but it's usual. Every second pass is very rough, so it's not so enjoyable. You have to make sure you don't roll because it's easy to get in the ruts."
"It feels terrible. I don't know what happened, but it's terrible. It's not rough."
"Yeah, it's 100 per cent fixed. I had no visibility problems and I tried not to go too hard on the tyres."
"Really rough. Much rougher than I was expecting, and it feels bad in the car. You can not push on the limit or the car will not hold up, but let's see."
Lost wheel
SS4
Puncture
Puncture
Puncture
Puncture
"We have had very bad luck, with two punctures in the last two stages. The weird thing is that all was in the rear wheels. Anyway, we have to change the mind for the five remaining stages."
Lost wheel
"Not perfect to be honest. It's one of them. The grip is not so high and I'm not so happy with that one. Let's see - it's early days yet."
"To be honest, I am pushing. I don't know how to go faster at the moment, so we need to analyse it with the team."
"In that one I felt like I had a good run. I was clean and tidy, and although I lost the tyres I don't really have an answer to that."
"It's up and down a bit and on the middle stage I was quite okay, but on some sections I have no speed at all., I need to improve my driving somehow."
"It's a lot, for sure. There are no problems, I just didn't have the feeling with the car. I'll try to do what I can."
"I tried hard and I had a very good stage, I think. With what I can do at the moment, it was a good drive."
"I tried to shut the door as hard as I could. The problem is that I'm sweating a bit and it's starting to stick onto the glasses as well."
"On the previous one I was saving the tyres a bit. We should have done better in there, but it was hard to know with the tyre wear."
"I was not expecting such big tyre wear on the first pass, but it was good that we managed with only four tyres. We should be okay for the rest of the rally. I think we did quite a job for the first car."
SS3
"I think my tyres were working better here. I wasn't taking many risks at the beginning but I started to play with the car. I enjoyed the stage and the times will come."
"It was really hard for the tyres - even in the first stage it was hard. I tried to manage them and I was enjoying this stage. That's the main thing."
Puncture
Puncture
"I missed a junction at the start. It's all good."
missed a junction
"I don't know. It always seems the same in here - the last part seems to be soft and it doesn't affect the cleaning quite in the same way."
"It's all okay, but we can't really manage to go fast at the moment so it's not so good."
"The car's full of dust and I can't see anything. I said this yesterday."
"The feeling is okay, but at the top of the mountain I didn't have much power. It was a bit strange, but everything is okay."
"It was really dusty and generally I am not happy with the balance, it was quite tricky to drive. We tried our best but it's not fully enjoyable at the moment."
"I was not able to close the door at the start, so it was half open. We got a lot of dust in the car."
"I've no idea where it's coming from. Every time I go round a right-hand corner it's billowing in somewhere near the rear. I couldn't see a thing."
"The dust is manageable and we didn't lose too much with it. The conditions were more rough than I expected but we will keep going. It's cleaning so much that a soft tyre was the only choice."
"It seems quite tough for the tyres. I don't know, it seems like they are quite down already. Maybe one hard tyre would have been good for this one, but we'll see how the others do."
SS2
“We had a little off road and had to put reverse. We lost some time.”
Retired for a day
"There's not a lot of grip and a lot of wheel spin. There's also a lot of dust in the stage and in many places I couldn't see. It's not so good."
"For me I just need to find the confidence. I was a bit too careful, especially under braking. It's okay and we will continue."
"I was too cautious in some places and I need to be cleaner with my driving, but it's fine. It's a good start, so let's continue like this."
"The grip is better, but I started pretty badly. The drive was a bit better at the end, but I need to come in."
"It was just tidy more than anything. Nothing too crazy, but everything is working quite okay."
"I woke up this morning and decided that it's time...I gave it everything I've got and by the end of the rally I'll make sure I have nothing left. We'll see."
SS1
"I am feeling good. It will be interesting to see where we are tomorrow and it will be a tough day opening the road. Hopefully we can keep hold of a good position."
"We are still discovering. A really nice opening stage - it's good to see the crowds again because the last three years have been not so nice. Hopefully it will be a great fight this weekend."
"It's exciting. I've done the event up here twice, so the stages are relatively new to me tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it."
"It will be difficult. I need to get into the rhythm first and the road position will not be easy. I will try my best. I don't believe we can fight for the win but I will try to have a good rally."
"Most of the championship is on gravel and it's nice to start here. Portugal is a fantastic event with fast roads. I have always enjoyed it, so hopefully we can enjoy it from tomorrow."
"This is just for the show, but it's nice to drive in front of the fans. You can easily get lost, so I had to be very careful. The car feels good and I am looking forward to tomorrow's stages."
"It's my favourite rally - it's where I feel comfortable. I hate super specials, so I always try to memorise these stages! To start well on a stage like this is really good."
"I think it's been very nice. I have a kind of second family in terms of rallying here in Portugal, so I hope I can give them a good result! It's nice to be here."
"There are so many unknowns, like there has been all year. This weekend we don't know exactly how it'll feel with these cars, but we're looking forward to it."
"We will try to do our best, for sure. It's an event we like and the feeling during shakedown was good, so I hope we can do the same during the rally."
"I want to get back the confidence, especially on gravel. It will be a tough rally for everybody - the first rally with the new cars on gravel. It's a new challenge."
"I was thinking about how the car was working and I wasn't concentrating."
"I like this rally a lot. Last time I did it was 2018, so quite a long time ago. I think we have a nice weekend in front of us."
"The feeling is good with the car. Of course, with one day of testing, we didn't have time to check everything, but let's see what we can do here."
"It's fun to drive, but very difficult. The [car] set-up is not for a stage like this, but we drove through without making any mistakes."
"It's fantastic. So many people and it's very fun to drive this kind of stage. I had a lot of understeer, but I really enjoyed it so it's okay."