WRC Rally Portugal & Hydro X Prix | 7 talking points

Penalty pain for Munnings and Andretti

The first round of the Extreme E double-header began with a bang, then ended in frustration for the apparent winner. Tactical use of the hyperdrive power boost proved key in the dramatic opening seconds of the final. X44’s Fraser McConnell cleverly held back as the five Odyssey 21s barrelled into Turn One, then the Jamaican unleashed his hyperdrive to shoot past all four of his rivals to take a sensational lead. But he went in too hot up the course’s big slope and slithered wide, which allowed Timmy Hansen to take the lead for Andretti.

The race looked in the bag when Hansen handed over a healthy lead to Britain’s Catie Munnings, who put in a solid stint to hold off Cristina Gutiérrez (in for McConnell at X44) to cross the line first. But then heartbreak: she had left the switch zone a tad too early, inside the minimum stop time, and the team copped a whopping 15.3-second penalty. That demoted Andretti to second and handed the victory to X44.

“Podiums are amazing no matter where you are standing, especially when the competition here is so fast,” said Munnings, putting a brave face on her disappointment. “The course is unbelievably quick and so technical, therefore to come away with this result is fantastic. The top step wasn’t ours unfortunately, but it feels like a win for us and it’s been a little while since we’ve been on the podium.”

Kristoffersson flips a wall and rolls

Five-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristofferson was in the thick of it in the opening seconds of the final, but having demoted McConnell another place after his moment of understeer the Swede then found his windscreen plastered in mud. Unsighted, he launched Nico Rosberg’s RXR entry over a stone wall and flipped with a heavy crunch, fortunately emerging unscathed. The most remarkable thing about the accident was how unmoved he appeared as the onboard camera caught his non-reaction mid- and post-accident…

Veloce hits back on Sunday

The title-contending Sainz and Veloce teams didn’t even make the final on Saturday, the former leading the latter for victory in the so-called Redemption consolation race. But there was a complete about turn on Sunday as Veloce dominated the second round to score its second victory of the season and jump back to the top of the points standings.

This being Scotland, rain was a factor in the second round of the weekend, flying mud making visibility a problem. Not for Kevin Hansen and season one champion Molly Taylor, who led all the way to stay clear of the splatters and clinch their victory. “We had a tough weekend, much tougher than Saudi Arabia,” said Hansen. “We didn’t really have anything on our side yesterday. It was nice after Friday, with our double P1s in free practice, to come back and actually get on top. It was a huge effort from the team to pull through in such difficult conditions. They gave me full rein for an hour before the final and quick decisions on set-up. It was really cool to pull it off.”

McLaren best of the rest

Only third in Saturday’s Redemption race, McLaren was another to bounce back to score its second Extreme E podium in the final on Sunday after Tanner Foust got the better of Sainz’s Mattias Ekström in the filthy conditions. After the driver switches, Laia Sanz (Sainz) and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinksy (RXR) collided for the second time in the weekend, following a clash in qualifying. Åhlin-Kottulinksy ran into the back of Sanz, side-lining the RXR entry for the second time in consecutive days. Sanz recovered but then found some hay bales, allowing the entry of superstar DJ Carl Cox on to the podium and costing the Sainz crew its series points lead.

In Sunday’s Redemption race Andreas Bakkerud and Hedda Hosås took a much-needed win for Jenson Button’s JBXE crew, while X44 went from winners on Saturday to losers on Sunday when McConnell crashed into the in-the-wars Abt Cupra entry. It was all go.

Rovanperä back on top in WRC

A long way south on Rally Portugal, Kalle Rovanperä put a disappointing start to 2023 far behind him with a dominant victory, his first since wrapping up the 2022 World Rally Championship title on Rally New Zealand. The result, combined with troubles for his main rivals, means he has suddenly leapt to the top of the standings for the first time this season, with a 17-point cushion over Ott Tänak.

M-Sport Ford’s Tänak led the early stages, only for his right front Pirelli to depart from its rim on Friday afternoon and cost him more than 50 seconds. That handed Toyota ace Rovanperä a lead he’d never lose. He was 10.7 seconds ahead at the end day one, then scored an impressive five stage wins on Saturday to break the back of the rally. His final winning margin on Sunday was a comfy 54.7 seconds over Hyundai’s part-timer Dani Sordo. Finn Esapekka Lappi made it two Hyundais on the podium in third.

“It has been too long coming, but finally we are back," Rovanperä said. “I have to say a big thank you to Jonne [Halttunen, co-driver] and the team. They have been pushing all the time and going forward.”

Turbo failure costs Neuville

Belgian title contender Thierry Neuville should have been on the podium and would likely have benefitted from Hyundai team orders to finish second. But ex-Renault F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul didn’t have a chance to make that call, when Neuville suffered a turbo failure on the final morning of action. He hobbled to the finish, not only losing third but also fourth to Tänak’s Puma.

Elfyn Evans crashes out

Rovanperä’s cause was also aided by a large accident for his Toyota Gazoo team-mate Elfyn Evans, who crashed out into trees on Friday. His Yaris was too badly damaged to re-join the rally on Saturday, especially after a small fire had made matters worse. In the wake of his Rally Croatia win, this was a heavy blow for Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin who both emerged without injury. The victory, after a drought dating back 18 months, had lifted Evans into the join championship lead with Sébastien Ogier, whose part-time commitment to the WRC means he wasn’t in Portugal. This was a perfect opportunity for Evans to make the points lead his own. Instead he’s handed the advantage square to Rovanperä.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.