The first complete day of competition saw Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret impose the superiority of the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team on the rest of the filed and become the leaders of the provisional classification in the Baja Portalegre 500. In spite of losing a few seconds in yesterday`s short stage the Repsol pair has recovered today and they worked their way into the lead on the first special of the day, one of 140 kilometres. On the second of 259km they were once again the fastest and they finished the day with a lead of more than four minutes over the driver in second position.
The new Racing Lancer that is making its debut in competition this weekend in Portugal has shown that it is very competitive in the cold wet conditions found on today’s stage. The rain that has fallen in the last few days has made the tracks very slippery and full of puddles, although Peterhansel and Cottret were favoured by the starting order for the stage. Yesterday’s result meant that they started further down the list than their biggest rivals and so they were able to find more grip than their opponents on the muddy Portuguese terrain.
The race finishes tomorrow with a 110 kilometre long special that takes the drivers back to Portalegre.
Stéphane Peterhansel
“I drove quite fast on the first special, but trying to drive as gently as possible since the conditions were very treacherous and I didn’t want to take too many risks. We hit a small bump a little after changing a tyre after a puncture, after about 25 kilometres, but we were able to recover the time we lost and win the special. The Racing Lancer seems to be very competitive, and you can feel all the power pushing coming out of the tightest corners or on the steepest slopes. I am also very happy with the front suspension, since it is something you really need and it is efficient on this type of terrain. We kept up the pace on the second special as it was just as difficult, with many puddles on the tracks. The problem was that the conditions were not very predictable, so I had to drive very carefully.”
Dominique Serieys
“The weather was not too good, especially early on, but Stéphane [Peterhansel] and Jean – Paul [Cottret] have done a great job finishing without any problems. They are professional and they know what is expected from them this weekend, which basically is to put the finishing touches to set-up on the new Racing Lancer.”
