Palmeirinha Wins in the cars and wants to forget the previous stages

Differently to the other two stages of the rally, today was a perfect day for the duo Paulo Nobre, Palmeirinha, and Felipe Palmeiro. They made the best time among the cars in the Special between Porangatu (GO) and Gurupi (TO): 4h07min36, around three minutes faster than Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad, who came in second.

After a penalization, on the first day, and a bang on a stone that pulled their wheel off the BMW X3 in yesterday’s stage, Palmeirinha started off this Friday having to recover the lost time. “Up until yesterday the strategy was to monitor the leaders and not attack. Today, with the time distance of a truck behind, we had to gain time. It was good because we drove strongly from the beginning to the end, at the same rhythm. When things go right, the results appear”, the driver celebrates.

Even with the victory, nothing is simple in the rally. The duo also lost a few minutes because of a punctured tire during the special. “But that is part of it all. What’s not a part is to lose a wheel and get left without brakes like in yesterday’s stage. Then things really get complicated”, he assesses.

Even after having won, the duo is in sixth place in the general classification, with over a half hour disadvantage to Guilherme Spinelli/youssef Haddad. Even so, the driver still has his hopes up. “We can’t gain half na hour in one day, but it is necessary to do our test and not take risks. We are only on the third day, and we have to stay in the fight to wait for the opportunities”, he states. “In the same way that we had a problem , it can happen to anyone. Obviously, we don’t wish anyone to have problems. We want to win by being the fastest, but we know that problems are a part of a marathon like the Sertões International Rally.”

Spinelli in the general lead – The accumulated classification of the Sertões International Rally has Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad with 9h43min40. Even after having received a penalization of ten minutes, the duo registered 188km/h on today’s Special and recovered the lost time.

Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti appear in second, a little less than ten minuts behind. Reinaldo Varela/Eduardo Bampi follow in third place in the general classification.

Tomorrow’s stage continues in Tocantins, from Gurupi toPorto Nacional. There will be 140 kilometers of timed stretch.