Rally de Portugal has brought Suninen success in the past, as the driver from Finland claimed his first podium finish in the top category here in 2018. He has also been on the podium three times in the smaller category along the Atlantic coast.
However, the 30-year-old doubts that this time he will be able to keep up with the leaders. The blunt fact is that Hyundai’s Rally2 car currently lacks the performance to match Skoda, Citroën, and Toyota.
“The feeling is that we might not be up to winning speed. Let’s say it’s a challenge if you want to perform well and set fastest stage times. Unfortunately, that’s the situation, and the indications have been there,” Suninen explained to RallyJournal.com.
“The guys haven’t been at an outstanding pace in recent races. It could be tough to cut three minutes off the other drivers. We’re driving the same car the guys used in Croatia. If we can find a bit more speed than that, we’ll be satisfied.”
Although the gap between rallies has stretched, Suninen remains confident that it won’t come down to his own performance. He last drove in October during last year’s Central European Rally.
“The route is familiar. You can even drive some of the stages from memory. While I might not be in top form, I can still rely on memory for braking points and other areas. It’s easy to come back here after a longer break,” Suninen reflected.
“It’s nice to be back driving after so long. I’ve always enjoyed this rally and have achieved good results.”
Suninen predicts that Friday will be the decisive day of the rally.
“It’s crucial to avoid punctures on Friday. There’s a bit of rocky terrain, and punctures have often been an issue. We need to manage that well. We don’t have as many tyres available in WRC2 as we’d like,” Suninen summarised.
“You have to think about whether to use only four tyres on Friday so that there’s something left for Sunday. If you go into Saturday with six tyres, you’ll only have two new ones left for Sunday.”
The competition in the WRC2 class will be intense. Alongside Suninen, Finnish drivers Sami Pajari, Lauri Joona, and Roope Korhonen will also be present. Other competitors aiming for top positions include Oliver Solberg, Gus Greensmith, Pierre-Louis Loubet, Yohan Rossel, and Nikolay Gryazin.
