BWRT Rally de España final leg summary

Daniel Oliveira earns two Manufacturer points for BWRT in Spain

Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes, MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS

Photo by: Brazil World Rally Team

The Brazilian also finished with a high and posted the 4th best time in the Power Stage

The Brazil World Rally Team was able to pick up two more points in the Manufacturers Championship race thanks to the great job of Daniel Oliveira and Fernando Mussano did. They reached the finish line in the 47th RACC Rally de España placing their MINI John Cooper Works WRC 25th overall and 9th among the Manufacturers nominee.

The South American pair had to fight hard throughout the whole weekend to complete this very demanding 12th and penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship which was held mainly on the tarmac roads of the Cataluña Region near Salou.

Oliveira bounced back in an incredible way after his retirement last Friday, and he was always confident that he would be able to give the BWRT a great result.

But his joy went even further when he sealed his performance setting the fourth fastest time in the Power Stage, the 4.32km Coll de la Teixeta, with bonus points for the three first fastest drivers. Daniel missed his first Driver Championship point by few seconds in what it turned out to be his best stage final position ever.

Today’s action moved back again to the West of the rally base in Salou, to the South of Barcelona. The drivers tackled two identical loops of three stages each covering 102.62km on sealed-surface roads.

Since the weather forecast had announced damp conditions for today, Daniel and Fernando hit the road with the soft compound of the Michelin tyres but the rain was not coming and it was a difficult to handle the car.

Oliveira lost some time during the morning due to a broken windscreen, and he had also a minor engine issue which made the car down on power. The BWRT mechanics fixed the car at the mid-morning service in Salou, and Daniel left the Service Park with renewed hopes.

And it finally came. It rained some minutes before the drivers started tackling the Power Stage, so it was the perfect choice for a great finish for Daniel, Fernando and the whole team.

Daniel’s word. “It was an incredible way to finish this really demanding rally. We lost everything on Friday but we didn’t give up and raced to the end. That’s the most valuable thing. Personally, I’m really pleased with my performance and the way we worked together with Fernando. I’m also really proud of the team. They did a really great job and they deserved these points for the Manufacturers Championship”.

The last station. Rally de España was the last round to be held on tarmac and now the WRC will contest Wales Rally GB next month (November 11th-13th) to bring the season to an end.