Rally of Portugal: Martiņs Sesks surprises by being the fastest in the 'shakedown'
Latvian driver Martiņs Sesks (Ford Puma) was the fastest today in the 'shakedown' [warm-up] of the 58th edition of the Rally of Portugal, fifth round of the World Championship (WRC), which runs until Sunday.
Sesks, who had never driven a car in the top category on Portuguese roads, set the best time on the fourth and final run through the Baltar section, with 3.52.3 minutes, leaving Finland's Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota Yaris) in second place, 0.6 seconds behind, while the reigning champion, Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20), was third, 0.9 seconds behind.
“It was spectacular. We tried new things in the shakedown and we are learning. I have already done the rally once with a front-wheel drive Ford Fiesta in the juniors. I only remember the names of the cities and nothing else,” said the Latvian driver.
Among the Portuguese, the fastest was Diogo Salvi (Ford Puma), the only one to participate in the main category, recording the 16th fastest time, 11.6 seconds behind Sesks. “It's tremendous, the car slides a lot, that's the positive point. The negative point is that it's very physically demanding”, stressed Salvi.
In WRC2, the fastest was Gus Greensmith, followed by Oliver Solberg, with exactly the same time as the British Skoda driver, 4.02.9 minutes, with Robert Virvs achieving the 3rd best time 4.03.7mn.
Kris Meeke @Ricardo Panao
Among the drivers who are registered to score points for the Portuguese Rally Championship, Kris Meeke was the fastest with a time of 4.04.1mn, followed by the Spaniard Dani Sordo, who equaled the Toyota driver's time, with Ricardo Teodósio achieving a time of 4.04.5mn, also being the best among the Portuguese drivers.
Ricardo Theodosius @Ricardo Panão
It is worth noting the presence of a large public at the Baltar Circuit, which once again completely filled a venue that has already become a must-see for the overwhelming majority of those passionate about the sport.
The 'shakedown' is the last opportunity to test the machines' settings before the official opening in Coimbra, and the official start of the competitive part, this afternoon, with the super special in Figueira da Foz.
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