Bryn Jones’ Rali Terras D’ Aboboreira campaign came to an early end after a strong start, following an incident on the first stage of Day two.
Jones, alongside Welsh co-driver Max Freeman, showed immediate pace on the fast Portuguese gravel stages, setting the fourth-fastest time on the opening stage — a clear sign of the speed the pairing had heading into the event.
However, the rally came to a sudden halt later in the day, when Jones was caught out carrying speed into a tight right-hander, making contact with a bank and damaging the left-hand side of the Peugeot 208 Rally4.
“Hard day… Just when everything was feeling good, it all came to a sudden stop,” said Jones.
“I got caught out carrying speed into a tight right-hander and hit a bank, which did a fair bit of damage to the car. It’s pretty gutting.”
Despite the early retirement, there were clear positives to take from the weekend, particularly the pace shown from the outset.
“There’s a lot to take away from it — the speed is definitely there. That fourth-fastest time on SS1 was a real highlight,” he added.
Freeman said the weekend provided a strong foundation to build from: “After a very positive test, it was great to hit the ground running with Bryn and be on the pace from the opening stages. It was unfortunate to be caught out the way we did, but there have been so many positives to take from this event that we know we can build on into the future.”
Jones also paid tribute to those around him, acknowledging the contribution of his new co-driver and team.
“A massive thank you to Max for his efforts this week. His experience has been valuable and I have learned a lot in a short space of time, and to everyone at PT Racing, thanks for everything you’ve done to get me to the start. It’s not the result we wanted, but we’ll come back stronger.”
With Rali Terras D’ Aboboreira behind them, Jones now turns his attention to the next round, Rally de Lisboa (28–30 May), where he will return to tarmac conditions.
Header Image: Kora
