Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena completed the first full day of the 2007 Rally de Portugal in first place, while their Citroën C4 WRC team-mates Dani Sordo and Marc Martí reached this evening s parc ferme in 5th position.
After kicking off yesterday evening with a super-special in the Algarve Stadium, the opening leg continued today with a menu of three stages to be contested twice each. The Rally de Portugal is no newcomer to the World Rally Championship since it was an established round of the series until 2001, but this is the first time it has been organised in the country s Algarve region.
Today s tests went by the names of Tavira, S. Bras de Alportel and Serra de Tavira which have yet to gain the legendary status of former Portuguese classics Fafe and Arganil, but their complexity could well see them become household names in rallying circles sooner rather than later, as predicted by both Citroën Sport crews. “This isn t going to be an easy rally, ” anticipated Sébastien Loeb.
“The blind crests and corners were difficult to note and there was a real risk of not finding the ideal pace first time through the stages, ” added Daniel Elena. “I ve already been to Faro twice, ” remarked Dani Sordo, “but the stage surfaces are different to what I saw last year. They are harder on the tyres. ” “Despite our prior knowledge of the event, ” concluded Marc Marti, “we will take things cautiously because this promises to be a very complex rally.
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