Before starting out on the Rallye Vinho de Madeira, Brice Tirabassi and co-driver Fabrice Gordon had the feeling that things would be taking a better turn, that the bad luck which had been pursuing them since the beginning of the IRC season had been left behind.

It was believed that the points collected in Russia could be followed by more on the island of Madeira, especially after the Tirabassi/Gordon duo recorded the fifth-fastest time during last Thursday evening's super special stage, which opened the event.

Unfortunately, the super special would be the only good memory!

As soon as the 'real' rally began on Friday morning, Tirabassi was hampered by mechanical problems: understeering appeared on the day's first stage, then his Peugeot 207 S2000 lost braking power on the second run.

To cap it off, the starter went out at the end of the third stage, most probably due to an electrical issue, forcing Tirabassi and Gordon to retire from the event.

After these new problems and yet another retirement, both driver and co-driver were feeling a bit at a loss. After a very understandable moment of discouragement, the will to bounce back mightily returned.

"We have to look at the situation quickly," said Tirabassi. "On every rally, we've had problems."

"Until now, because of the engine and mechanical trouble we've encountered, we were never able to express ourselves on the stages," the French driver explained. "It's nice to know we can do something good, but we can't show it."

"After a while, it's discouraging... I hope – I know! – that things will come around," Tirabassi concluded.