Isidre Esteve is a clear example of what will and determination can achieve in all kinds of circumstances. Not only does he show this in his daily life, in his work at the foundation that bears his name and where – together with his wife Lidia Guerrero – he helps people with impaired mobility, but he also this is the most difficult test. complex rally raid. In the second stage of the third qualifying event for the World Championship of the specialty, in Portugal, he showed it again by managing to finish 17th in the premier category (Ultimate).
The 166 kilometer timed loop around Grândola (100 km south of Lisbon) is a high-voltage first course, after Wednesday’s aperitif. With a succession of tracks that combine hard surfaces with soft sand and many muddy areas due to the rains of recent days, the mechanical and physical demands are great. So they led the organization to shorten the section around 2:30 pm local time for the furthest behind teams. Although the conditions were not ideal for the almost three tons of his Toyota Hilux T1+, the man from Ilerda and his co-driver, Txema Villalobos, used a cool head and skills to finish, once again, among the top 20.
“It costs me a lot. When it’s very slow and on top of that it’s muddy and you’re going between trees, driving with the adapted steering wheel becomes very difficult. It is very stressful for us, because we are used to tracks like in Dakar, in Morocco and even in Baja España, which are more open, faster, where you can enjoy driving more yet,” Esteve reflected. he arrived at the service park, after the 17th, 12:20 behind the winner of the day.
The excellent performance of the Spanish couple becomes even more important when one considers that ahead of them are names like Nasser Al Attiyah (five-time winner of the Dakar), Sébastien Loeb (nine-time world rally champion) or Carlos Sainz (four-time Dakar winner and two-time world rally champion), among other official Toyota, Prodrive or MINI drivers. In the overall test, they were in 30th place – counting the light vehicles, better suited for this terrain – and 16th among the Ultimates (latest generation 4×4 prototypes).
The Rally Raid of Portugal will continue this Friday on the longest day of its entire program, with Esteve and Villalobos taking part in the Spanish fans in the area of Badajoz. They will face a massive 388 km clocked from Grândola to the Extremaduran city, with an estimated competition time of more than six hours. A marathon fit only for brave people like the members of the Repsol Toyota Rally Team.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
