Competing in the WRC2 class, Suninen crashed out heavily during the last special stage of the Friday morning loop. The car rolled over several times.
“Unfortunately it’s game over for us at least for the day. We drove off after landing a jump on the first pass of Arganil stage,” Suninen recounted on Facebook.
This time, however, the worst was avoided.
“We are both ok but the damage in the car is too big to continue today,” Suninen updated.
Watch the video of Suninen’s crash below.
If the video does not appear above, you can watch it here.
Suninen and his co-driver Mikko Markkula were in sixth place in the WRC2 class competition before their crash, less than half a minute behind the leader.
“This of course is a big shame to start our season like this, but this is rallying sometimes when you’re on the limit.”
Oliver Solberg leads the WRC2 class at the Rally de Portugal after the first five special stages. He has an 8.7-second lead over British driver Gus Greensmith. Frenchman Yohan Rossel is in third place.
Four more special stages are scheduled for Friday at the Rally de Portugal before the night break.
