The short shakedown test close to Funchal yesterday (Wednesday) was a last-minute opportunity for teams to finalise settings before the start of the all-asphalt Madeira Rally this evening. None of the crews encountered any major problems during the shakedown, and they are all eagerly awaiting the first stage, the 'superspecial' which gets underway at 19:30.

Most drivers do not spend too much time at the shakedown test unless there is a problem, in order to keep their cars in top condition for the real competitive stages. A favourite for victory is Portuguese driver Bruno Magalhães, in a Peugeot 207 Super 2000, and he posted the fastest time (1:52.0) on the 3.30 km 'shakedown' stage. "We've made a few changes to the car for Madeira and it responded very well." he said. "Our time was good and I'm feeling confident, but it's our performance from tomorrow onwards that really counts."

Giandomenico Basso, the FIA European and Intercontinental Champion and winner of last year's event, was only seven tenths of a second behind, after making four runs through the test, two less than Magalhães. Basso said: "I'm very happy with our Abarth Grande Punto after the shakedown. I've already got a reasonable idea about the sort of base set-up we might need, but I tried a couple of new things which seemed to work well too. I'm happy with things as they are at the moment, so let's see what happens when we get underway.
 

"My role here is to help the team," continued Basso, "so I am determined to concentrate on that to the best of our abilities." His Abarth factory team mate, and the IRC points leader, Andrea Navarra, was third fastest yesterday on the Shakedown stage (1:53.6), while Renato Travaglia was in a Mitsubishi Evo IX was fourth (1:53.8) with the same time of Nicolas Vouilloz, another Peugeot 207 S2000 driver.

Enrique Ojeda, currently lying in second place in the IRC drivers' standings for Peugeot Spain, changed his rear suspension set-up during the shakedown in order to find more precise handling. Simon Jean-Joseph, in the Super 1600 Citroen C2, also adjusted his car's suspension in order to maximise his chances of making an impression on the overall leaderboard in Madeira. "It's not going to be easy, as our car is less powerful than the Super 2000 runners and it only has front-wheel drive," he said. "However, it's been a good shakedown test for us, and this is exactly the sort of challenge that I love." He set a useful time of 1:55.8. The fastest Madeiran driver was Bernardo Sousa in Mitsubishi Evo IX who was 16th fastest with the time of 1:57.7.