Fresh off their victory at the ERC round in Hungary, the duo is looking to continue their streak of success this coming weekend in the WRC2 category. In their previous WRC outing, the Toyota crew secured second place at Rally Sweden in February.
Two weeks ago, Korhonen fine-tuned his setup at Rali Terras d’Aboboreira, finishing fourth overall and as the fastest driver testing the WRC-spec tyre.
– The goal was to gain experience with the WRC tyre, and in that sense, we gave away a bit of performance. But overall, it went well, and we got what we came for – valuable mileage on the Hankook tyre ahead of the WRC round. The conditions were also nicely challenging with some rain, Korhonen explains.
After the win in Hungary, Korhonen flew straight to Portugal and had no time to celebrate his first career ERC victory. Recce began immediately on Monday.
– We took the first available flight to Porto and went straight into the recce car. I have to admit I’m a bit tired – I didn’t get much sleep, Korhonen admits.
According to Korhonen, the recce conditions have been tricky.
– It’s been alternating between rain and sunshine, so the stages are really muddy, and it’s very slippery on road tires. Still, the stages are beautiful, and the new ones especially are really technical, he says.
– We’re definitely aiming for the podium, even though the competition in WRC2 is extremely tough. The level couldn’t really be much higher. It’s been a rainy spring here, and the conditions are more challenging than last year – but of course, it’s the same for everyone, Korhonen analyzes from the recce.
Rally Portugal kicks off on Thursday evening at 19:05 local time with the Figueira da Foz super special stage. The rally concludes with the Power Stage on Sunday at 13:15 local time. The route includes 24 special stages and a total of 344 competitive kilometres.
