The Citroën driver celebrated World Championship rally victories in both the season opener in Monte Carlo and last week’s Canary Islands round. Rossel admitted he was surprised by how dominant he was on the Canary Island tarmac.
The French driver set the fastest time on 13 of the 18 special stages and won the event by half a minute ahead of local driver Alejandro Cachón.
“I didn’t expect that before the start. I hoped to fight for the win, but I didn’t think it would be like this — with this level of domination. The team prepared everything perfectly before the rally,” Rossel praised after the event.
“We did a great job to take the win here. Amazing work from my co-driver (Arnaud Dunand) and the gravel crew, and from the whole team.”
Although Rossel’s victory may have looked easy from the outside, it didn’t feel that way to him.
“Everything plays onto the time. You’re always on the limit, and to create a gap you have to be fast on every single stage,” he explained. “Tyre choice was tricky – it was easy to go with hards, but the fog and humidity made things unpredictable. Honestly, it was never easy.”
The asphalt specialist has fought closely for the WRC2 title in previous seasons, but now he needs to deliver strong performances on gravel as well. With two victories, Rossel has built up a 15-point lead in the standings, but he’ll need another podium finish in Portugal in two weeks to maintain momentum.
The challenge will be tough, with no fewer than 47 WRC2 crews entered for Rally Portugal.
“We need to reset now for the gravel rallies. I’m happy when I see that kind of entry because it means I get to fight with all the WRC2 crews and compare myself with them. Let’s see what we can do,” Rossel summed up.
