Jari-Matti Latvala is competing this weekend in the FIA European Historic Rally Championship, so the rally legend overseeing the team’s operations in Portugal. Kankkunen won Rally Portugal during his own driving career in 1992 and 1994. The four-time world champion has also celebrated a few other victories in the country.
“I’ve won this rally four times, but only twice as a WRC event. I won the warm-up event in 2003 with a Toyota Corolla, and again in 2010 in the Algarve with a BDA Escort in a historic rally. That was maybe the best win – getting to drive an old-school Escort,” Kankkunen chuckled.
The Finn remains a popular figure in Portugal, known for its passionate rally fan culture.
“I could barely make it through [to the media zone], had to take a little detour. Looks like they still remember we’ve been up to all sorts here,” Kankkunen laughed.
Rain could ease Rovanperä’s challenge
The fastest driver in Thursday morning’s shakedown was M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks. Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä was second, Sébastien Ogier fourth and Elfyn Evans sixth. According to Kankkunen, everything appears to be in order.
“Now we’ve got the first proper gravel rally ahead – Kenya is a bit different. The boys haven’t complained about anything. The tests were a bit of a mixed bag because of all the rain. But they seemed really satisfied this morning in the shakedown. No one changed anything on the car. They just said, ‘Throw on fresh tyres and let’s go,’” Kankkunen summed up.
Evans and Rovanperä will be acting as road sweepers on Friday. Kankkunen believes the disadvantage may not be as significant this year as in the past.
“Someone has to drive first if they want to win a [championship] someday. We all know that. I’ve done it myself many times here. It’s been a bit wetter now – if you look at the shakedown, it wasn’t particularly slippery,” the team boss stated.
“If it had been bone-dry for a month, they’d certainly suffer much more. They’ll struggle a bit for sure, but I don’t think there’ll be massive, decisive differences.”
Hyundai ready to strike back?
In the previous WRC round on the Canary Islands’ asphalt, Toyota practically crushed Hyundai’s hopes. But Kankkunen doesn’t believe a repeat of that dominant performance is on the cards on Portuguese gravel.
“Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak will definitely be quick. They’ve always known how to drive, and maybe now the setup suits their car a bit better. And we shouldn’t forget about Adrien Fourmaux either. There’ll definitely be some proper battles before Sunday evening,” Kankkunen predicted.
Rovanperä has previously complained that the car doesn’t feel quite right on gravel. According to Kankkunen, the biggest issue lies with Hankook’s new tyre.
“I’m sure Kalle always has the speed. But the situation has been more or less the same for everyone. The new tyre is significantly slower and more slippery than last year’s Pirelli. That’s why car setup is so critical – it’s really hard to get it dialled in the way he’d like,” Kankkunen reasoned.
“When you can’t use the car 100% the way you want to, it feels uncertain.”
