Araujo confident new MINI will fly

Armindo Araujo says he is confident that he can run closer to the front in the World Rally Championship following his first outing in MINI’s John Cooper Works WRC in Sardinia last week.

Co-driven by Miguel Ramalho, Araujo finished the gravel event in 12th position after reporting difficulties adapting to the new machine in the absence of a pre-event test. He was also slowed on day two by an overheating glitch.

However, the Portuguese driver, Production Car world champion in 2009 and 2010, believes the package can only improve ahead of his next appearance, June’s Acropolis Rally of Greece.

“We arrived in Sardinia without tests so with the new WRC [bolt-on kit] the car was not working like I like and like the Super 2000 version I drove on Rally of Portugal,” said Araujo. “I didn’t find the confidence to push and I started losing a lot of time. Now we are preparing to do some tests to be faster and more confident for Greece.”

Araujo is contesting all remaining European rounds of the WRC this season ahead of a hoped-for full campaign in 2012 with the Motorsport Italia-run MINI. He said the main problems he encountered in Sardinia were a lack of balance and a lack of steering precision, factors he believes will soon be ironed out when he builds his experience of the car.

“Comparing with the car from Portugal with the new aerodynamic, kit the balance of the car changed completely,” said the 33-year-old. “Sometimes I don’t have the balance and sometimes [I was] without the good steering. As a result the times are not coming. But for sure we have the potential. We need to make more kilometres but it will be good in a few months.”