Nobre banking on better luck in Argentina

Paulo Nobre is hoping for a reversal of fortune on the final day of Philips Rally Argentina, round five of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.

The WRC Team MINI Portugal driver has failed to complete the opening two days of the event, stopping on Friday with broken suspension and failing to go the distance on Saturday with a water temperature issue.

“Just as we were about to get to the time control for the fourth stage, the water temperature alarm went off and we couldn’t open the bonnet to check everything over so we decided not to start the afternoon stages,” the Brazilian explained. “It was very disappointing so please cross your fingers that we aren’t disturbed by any bad luck [on Sunday].”

Nobre said his early exit had given him the opportunity to meet some of his fans. “We waited for our mechanics for a long time, because they were stuck in traffic, but we had many friends around, so we passed some time with them. A lot, but really a lot of crazy rally fans passed us or were waiting there to take photos and talk to us. It was nice to have the opportunity to pay them some attention. It was just a shame that this was only possible, because we wouldn’t be racing anymore that day.”

While it was a day of frustration for Nobre, his Portuguese team-mate Armindo Araujo completed Saturday’s stages on course for a points finish in his John Cooper Works WRC.