Bruno Magalhaes has described winning an Intercontinental Rally Challenge event for the first time as being “like a dream”.
The 30-year-old Peugeot Sport Portugal driver secured a dramatic final stage victory on Sata Rallye Acores last weekend to move into third place in the IRC drivers’ standings.
He said: “It was a fantastic day, like a dream, but very difficult for us because these drivers in the IRC are always very fast. We had to push from the first metre until the end. When we had the problem with the gearbox and lost 20 seconds I thought in this moment the victory was finished. But then everything changed and I think we deserved this victory.”
By winning in the Azores, Magalhaes became the first Portuguese driver to triumph on a round of the IRC, the sixth different winner in the IRC this season and the 16th different event winner since the series began in 2007.
His next event is Rali Vinho Madeira, which runs from 5-7 August.