Stohl says Oliveira will bounce back

Manfred Stohl has backed his driver Daniel Oliveira to bounce back from his off-road moment on the third stage of Rally Argentina.

Oliveira went off on a mud-coated corner three kilometres into the 20.43-kilometre stage and got stranded for more than 10 minutes, inflicting damage to his Peugeot 207’s front bumper and one of its dampers in the process.

The Brazilian was only able to continue after he and co-driver Carlos del Barrio summoned the help of spectators to get their car back on the road. They dropped from 19th to 58th and last in the overall standings as a result and Oliveira reported a loss of confidence on the subsequent stages.

“Daniel is a young guy with not much experience,” said Stohl. “He is here to learn, get the experience and get to the finish. He can do that and the stages on Sunday will be better for him because they are slower and that’s good because he does not have the experience.”

After five stages of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier Oliveira is 48th overall.