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Brazil WRT prepped for Rally Deutschland

Brazil WRT press release

Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes, Mini John Cooper Works

Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes, Mini John Cooper Works

Andre Lavadinho

A first taste of asphalt for Daniel Oliveira

Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes, Mini John Cooper Works
Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes, Mini John Cooper Works

Photo by: Andre Lavadinho

The BWRT driver is ready to tackle Rally Germany

Everything is new to Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes on their first full WRC season. The young BWRT Brazilian driver and his Portuguese navigator have (agreement) just left behind a quite demanding event like Rally Finland and now they have to reset their driving program to tackle this next challenge under completely different conditions.

Rallye Deutschland (19-21 August), nineth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, is the first of three rallies to be held entirely on asphalt and it will serve as a first test for Daniel and Carlos to find the right pace and the best set-up of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC ahead of the Spanish and French events. On this opportunity, Daniel will also try Michelin’s Pilot Sport asphalt tires, which will be available on both hard and soft compounds.

The German round it’s a particular asphalt rally since the surface changes completely from one day to the other, which demands a great power of adaptation and high level of concentration on the part of the drivers.

As when he worked with Pasi Hagstrom prior to Rally Finland, this time Daniel relied on the expert advice of the renowned driver coach Rob Wilson, who trained him on some asphalt driving techniques. Also, Daniel complemented the lessons with an intensive physical training programme to improve his resistance.

Previous Experiences. In 2010 Daniel entered some rallies on asphalt, including Rallye Monte Carlo, while competing in the IRC with a Super2000 spec car. And Rally Argentina 2011 also featured two tarmac stages.

Daniel’s word.

“This rally will be something completely new to me. Although I’ve earned some experience competing on asphalt before, the references I have from this rally tell me this event will be nothing compared to what I’ve raced in the past. We’ve tried to anticipate with Rob (Wilson) some of the situations we will have to cope with in Germany and that’s part of the job we’ve done together. In this event we will come with a new set-up on the MINI John Cooper Works WRC and I’m aware of the fact that it will take me some stages to grip with the car’s handling but I’m confident we can take much out of this new experience”.

Insight into Rally Deutschland.

The event will be based in the city of Trier as always, in the Southwest region of Mosel. Although it’s been introduced as an all-asphalt event, this rally actually features 6.10 kilometres of gravel. This year’s route remains largely unchanged, with the daunting tests in the Baumholder military testing ground and a run through the Circus Maximus superspecial street stage which will be the venue for the Power Stage.

Schedule.

The pre-race activities will start with the recce during next Tuesday and Wednesday. The shakedown will take place on Thursday’s morning in a 5.37-kilometre section while the Ceremonial Start will be celebrated during the night in the ancient Roman city gate Porta Nigra.

Facts and figures.

Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) has made this event his own by setting a new record-breaking with eight consecutive victories. The German round will be valid for all the WRC, SWRC and WRC Academy Championships. A total of 84 drivers have entered the event. Loeb leads the standings with 171 points followed by Finnish Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) with 144 and Sébastien Ogier (Citroen) with 140.

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