SSV CO-DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPION IN THE W2RC | BERNARDO OLIVEIRA | OLD FRIENDS RALLY TEAM
“Honestly, it still hasn’t sunk in, it’s hard to believe I’m a World Champion. I’m really happy for the whole team. And I say team because this was a collective effort: we were together all year. We were hoping to be able to celebrate here; fortunately, it happened.”
1st CHALLENGER | GONÇALO GUERREIRO | NASSER RACING TEAM
“It wasn’t a perfect race, but we had to adapt to the circumstances. There were no easy days, neither for me nor for my co-driver; sometimes it was tough for one, other times for the other. There were always small setbacks, whether in navigation or pace. But we were running almost the entire rally at the level of the factory teams, and the results speak for themselves. We did a great job, even matching Nasser’s times at some points — and that’s something almost no one manages to do. Of course, we were held back by the dust in every stage, just like all the other Challenger and SSV crews, but those are the rules. We lost 5th overall by 20 seconds, and I remember we dropped a lot of time in the dust, but it is what it is. If we had started up front, we could have been top 5 or even top 4. Still, we had an excellent rally, and that’s a big motivation for us.”
1st SSV | JOÃO DIAS | SANTAG RACING
“Winning a World Championship event, and doing it here in Portugal, is a huge honor. I’m really happy for the whole team and to achieve this result here. Unfortunately, Luís Portela was out early, and he would have been a driver fighting at the front.”
W2RC SSV DRIVERS’ STANDINGS LEADER | ALEXANDRE PINTO | OLD FRIENDS RALLY TEAM
“Being crowned champion at home would have been perfect, but we chose a strategy and focused on the championship. If we had gone flat out, we risked not finishing a stage, or jeopardizing our points for the title. We didn’t do that; instead, we kept a more conservative pace to score, and we brought home the maximum points possible within that plan. I’m really happy with that. The level of driving in Portugal is very high — just look at the results of this rally. So yes, I regret not being in the fight for the outright win, but Gonçalo and João did an excellent job. Now let’s see how Morocco goes.”