Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team drivers Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson are both looking to pick up where they left off in the last round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Cyprus as they prepare for round four of the series, the Vodafone Rally de Portugal.
Solberg and Wilson are lying fourth and sixth respectively in the driver standings after putting in outstanding performances on both asphalt and gravel in Cyprus and are looking to continue that form on the Algarve gravel where they will tackle 361.36kms of competitive stages on the 43rd running of the Rally de Portugal.
After returning to the FIA World Rally Championship calendar in 2007 following a long absence the Rally de Portugal is again based in the Algarve in the south of the country with many of the stages taking place in the hilly Baixo Alentejo area inland from the coastal town of Vilamoura.
All three rounds of the championship so far have been affected by weather giving some drivers with better road position an advantage. But, with mild weather expected, the Rally de Portugal should provide a level playing field for most drivers regardless of their starting position.
Wilson finished 12th on his only previous visit to the Rally de Portugal in 2007 when a final-day time penalty pushed him down the field. But with few changes to the stages used on the rally two years ago the young Briton, partnered by co-driver Scott Martin, is planning to use that experience to post some respectable times.
His confidence is high after taking his first full stage win on the final day of the Cyprus Rally and a good result in Portugal could move him up to fifth in the driver standings, his highest ever position in the rankings.
Solberg and co-driver Cato Menkerud finished in 11th place on their last outing in Portugal two years ago after suffering the same time penalty as their team mate. The Norwegians will be hoping to eradicate the memory of their disastrous start to the Cyprus Rally, where they collided with a non-competing vehicle on the way to the first stage, by continuing the speed set on the final day in Cyprus where Solberg outpaced the leaders on several of the closing stages.
Rally de Portugal has traditionally attracted a huge number of fanatical spectators out on the rally stages and those numbers will be boosted on Thursday night as the rally gets underway with a spectacular 2.2km Super Special stage in the Algarve Stadium.
It’s expected to attract more than 20,000 fans to cheer on the drivers as they race side by side on a specially designed track. Spectators will have an action feast with 75 crews registered to take the start; the highest entry for a WRC event so far this season.
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