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The Red Bull Rally Team pilot’s aim is to finish the Acropolis Rally
Bernardo - AcropoleBERNARDO SATISFIED WITH THE SHAKEDOWN

After classifying in the two Production World Rally (PWRC) races in which he competed (Sweden and Argentina), Bernardo Sousa wants to repeat the result in Greece. The shakedown this morning served as a warm-up for a race in which the demanding track and the heat will be the great adversaries of the Red Bull Rally Team pilot.

“Finishing” is Bernardo Sousa’s major concern. In his third Production Rally World Championship (PRWC) race, the Madeiran pilot, who is still learning, admits that finishing what is considered the toughest race in the World Championship will be a victory in itself.  
The 3.44 km morning shakedown left him feeling optimistic for his first race that starts tomorrow with a total of six sections against the clock and one 4.60 km super-special at the Tatoi military airport.

“This is an extremely tough rally and finishing will be a victory for us”, admits the Red Bull Rally Team pilot, who couldn’t be more satisfied with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. “The car is faultless. This last section of the shakedown is similar to what’s ahead of us in the rally and it went very well”, he said, underlining that “the heat and the hard tracks” will be our greatest adversaries during all stages.  Bernardo Sousa, just turned 21 and the youngest Portuguese pilot ever to compete in the PWRC, still states that this first year in the World Championship is for learning. “I can’t realistically establish any other objectives. I would like to classify again but what I really want to do is finish the race. Let’s see how things go tomorrow, where we’ll have six “specials” that alternate between being more or less demanding before finishing with a super-special where we can relax and put on a bit of a show”, he says.

But as challenges aren’t only faced on the track, today Bernardo also had to overcome the anxiety he felt at his first FIA (International Automobile Federation) press conference. “It was a novelty for me. I was a bit nervous at the beginning, but it was a very interesting experience”, he admitted.