The area around Loulé started to feel all the emotions of the Rally Portugal this morning, with the usual shakedown giving a final opportunity for the drivers to test their cars before the official start this evening near the historic town of Faro.

A dusty shakedown stage was dominated by two Peugeot drivers, Luca Rosseti and Bruno Magalhaes, who swapped fastest times. Anton Alen and François Duval were the fastest Abarths, while Juho Hanninen was the best of the conventional Group N Cars.

There were no major technical problems for any of the drivers – only a puncture for Fernando Peres and Bernardo Sousa - while Dani Sola complained about an engine that seemed to be lacking in power.

Duval commented: "I am satisfied with the car and the rally so far. But I think I have no chance of fighting for the win, because I am first on the road and that is sure to lead to a certain loss of time."

Jan Kopecky will participate on at least four IRC rallies this year. After a fifth place on the opening round in Turkey, he is aiming for an equally good result in Portugal.

"I am sure I won't be able to do any better," he admitted. "My position on the road is not the best. I know a little about this rally from 2007 but last year I had some brake problems on the first day, so I did not do many of the stages."

Bruno Magalhaes was the best of the Portuguese drivers and considered shakedown to be a good test for him: "The suspension set-up is good. We didn't change anything during the morning, and so I am feeling quite confident. This is going to be a good fight even with only two recce runs for each stage. Many of my rivals are used to a limited number of runs, but I am used to a bit more than that."

Nonetheless, Magalhaes finished second on his last participation in the IRC - last year's Madeira Rally - and he is hoping for another podium finish this time as well.

Shakedown results:

1.  Luca Rossetti       Peugeot 207 S2000               03:12.5
2.  Bruno Magalhaes     Peugeot 207 S2000               03:13.9
3.  Anton Alen          Fiat Grande Punto S2000         03:14.9
4.  François Duval      Fiat Grande Punto S2000         03:15.7
5.  Brice Tirabassi     Peugeot 207 S2000               03:16.4
6.  Manfred Stohl       Peugeot 207 S2000               03:17.3
7.  Jan Kopecky         Peugeot 207 S2000               03:18.3
8.  Giandomenico Basso  Fiat Grande Punto S2000         03:18.8
9.  José Pedro Fontes   Fiat Grande Punto S2000         03:21.0
10. Juho Hanninen       Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX  03:21.0