Sandell satisfied following Azores debut

SKODA Sweden’s Patrik Sandell has declared himself satisfied with his run to fifth overall on Sata Rallye Acores despite admitting he expected to finish higher up the leaderboard on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier.

Sandell, who claimed his first stage victory in the IRC on the gravel event, had hoped his greater knowledge of competing on loose-surface stages would have enabled him to challenge for a podium finish on the event. However, a number of factors held him back.

“I wasn’t always trusting the pacenotes in the conditions because I was missing the experience of this event,” said Sandell. “The set-up wasn’t always right, I had a one-minute penalty and I was first on the road on day two so when you look at those things fifth is okay. For sure I would have liked to have been higher up but it’s not easy for a small team like us to be on the same level as the others so soon.”