Bernardo Sousa delivered for the
Red Bull Rally Team in Sweden last weekend when he brought his Mitsubishi home in eighth place and secured the final point in the
FIA Production Car World Rally Championship category.
The Portuguese driver, who was making his debut in the PWRC, had never competed on snow before, something that made the result all the more notable.
He didn't have an easy run to P8 however, and he survived a slow roll on day 2, six kilometres into SS10. He also came under pressure from Simone Campedelli on the third and final leg when the Italian put in a charge to try and steal the final point.
Sousa held on though and eventually took the spot by 10.7 seconds.
"I can hardly believe it, it's crazy! That was a hard bit of work today. Campedelli was coming in really hard on my heels. It was really difficult to find the right balance but the team's superb tactics paid off in the end," he noted.
"I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of those who have helped to make this wonderful success a reality.
"I can't wait to hear from my father as he promised me before the rally that he would quit smoking if I managed to finish in the points!"
Red Bull Rally Team boss Raimund Baumschlager meanwhile was delighted with Sousa's performance on only his second outing in the WRC.
He was less happy however with the more experienced Andreas Aigner after the Austrian went off on day 2 while running in fifth. Andreas eventually finished in 14th place in the PWRC.
"There is jubilation with Bernardo's World Championship point. It is just sensational as the chap said himself," Baumschlager concluded. "We had a long tactical discussion before the final day today and he kept to it perfectly despite being pushed to the limit.
"It is of course a shame that Andreas is going home empty handed. He recorded some very quick times over the three days and just made one mistake and found that his luck had deserted him."
![Bernardo Sousa (POR) / Carlos Magalhaes (POR), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX [Production Car WRC]. Uddeholm Swedish Rally, February 7-10th 2008.](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/405685.jpg)
