Dinkel/Fürst gather valuable World Championship experience in Portugal

If you look only at the pure result in isolation, then the performance of the Brose Rallye Team Dominik Dinkel / Christina Fürst at the "Vodafone Rally Portugal" (30 May to 02 June 2019) is rather sobering. But if you look behind the scenes and know all the facts, the result is clearly positive - even if they weren't able to complete all the best time stages (SS) with their Brose Hyundai i20 R5 from Sarrazin Motorsport.

"A gigantic experience, a top organised event, demanding special stages embedded in a magnificent landscape, lined by an army of enthusiastic spectators". Impressions that also jump into the cockpit - and motivate, even when sauna temperatures prevail there. Dominik Dinkel and Christina Fürst gladly put them aside, as they were able to gather further valuable experience despite some problems. At the very highest level even, among the rally world elite.

Dominik and Christina had to work hard, show a lot of self-discipline and stay calm. There was one thing the congenial Brose duo in northern Portugal could not do: To at least be able to drive a trouble-free special stage. Right from the start, minor technical difficulties slowed down their performance, to which were added the hindrances caused by the trails of dust produced by the cars in front of them, which became particularly impenetrable whenever the front runners themselves had trouble, as well as several slow punctures. The most difficult decision had to be made by Dominik Dinkel and Christina Fürst on the second day of the rally. This was the decision to park their vehicle for lack of coolant pressure before Saturday's first special stage. But this saved the 1.6-litre turbo engine and secured their restart on Sunday.

At which they immediately found their rhythm again, but without being able to shake off the problems already described. In consideration of these, the times achieved were astounding, as they were on the level of an experienced local hero familiar with the Portuguese special stages, such as Bruno Magalhães, who was European Rally Vice Champion in 2017. "No reason therefore to leave Portugal with hanging heads," report 26-year-old Dominik Dinkel and his co-driver Christina Fürst (31). "Quite the opposite: Together with Hyundai, patron Michael Stoschek, Sarrazin Motorsport as well as our sponsors, fans and friends we are looking to the future with a really positive attitude. Because one thing is certain: Our first World Championship event participation in Portugal was a lot of fun and gave us a huge appetite for more!”