After retiring from Rally Sweden, Rovanperä polished his reputation by winning the legendary Safari Rally held in March. He is also a favorite to win on the gravel roads of Portugal, having won the rally from the first starting position in the last two seasons.
This time, Rovanperä will start as the fifth car on the gravel stages, making his starting position optimal.
“I’m really looking forward to Portugal. It’s a rally that I really like. There’s a lot of fans and a great atmosphere, and the stages have very nice characteristics,” Rovanperä enthuses.
“Stages seem to suit me quite well: we’ve had some really nice success there in the last two years. Of course, our aim will be to try and win again this year, but it’s never easy. All of the top drivers know the stages quite well, so the pace is usually pretty high and it can be quite a close fight there.”
It has been rainy in Portugal in recent days, but the temperatures are expected to rise to around 25 degrees Celsius with sunshine forecasted for the rally. Everything should be set for a stellar performance by Rovanperä.
“Maybe our road position could help us, but we will have to see what the weather does, because rain can really change things quite a bit,” Rovanperä sums up.
The Rally de Portugal starts Thursday morning with a shakedown stage. The actual rally begins with a spectator stage on Thursday evening.
A total of 22 special stages are scheduled, covering over 337 kilometers.
