Zoom Let the festivities begin!

Following the start ceremony at the Algarve Stadium, the contenders of Rally Portugal took on the first test of the event this evening with the opening super special stage, which saw the drivers racing in the historic sector of Faro near the beaches of the Atlantic shore.

After setting the fastest times during the shakedown session earlier in the day, Peugeot drivers once again proved fastest. Before thousands of fans lining this twisty short route, Luca Rossetti won the event's first test and is thereby Rally Portugal's provisional leader.

The Italian driver, who emerged victorious at the Intercontinental Rally Challenge's season-opener in Istanbul, holds on to a very fragile 0.6-second lead on Nicolas Vouilloz of the Peugeot Belgium-Luxemburg team, also at the wheel of a Peugeot 207 Super 2000.

One of the best local competitors, Armindo Araujo, took third position only a mere tenth of a second behind Vouilloz. A regular of international events, Araujo's Mitsubishi Lancer Group N took third place ahead of fellow countryman Fernando Perez, who is racing aboard a Mitsubishi as well.

Fifth place went to Brice Tirabassi at the wheel of another Peugeot. The Frenchman is followed by a pair of Fiat Abarth Grande Puntos, those of Giandomenico Basso and José Pedro Fontes.

Peugeot 207 S2000 driver Jan Kopecky came next in eighth position as two Belgian drivers rounded off the top ten: François Duval on a Grande Punto and Freddy Loix with a Peugeot 207 Super 2000.

Rally Portugal will continue tomorrow morning when it returns to gravel with the Loulé stage at 09:50 local time, the first of six appearing on the schedule.

Daniel BASTIEN
© CAPSIS International