Ulrik Linnemann will indeed be on the grid this weekend in Montalegre for the opening round of the 2025 season, though it nearly didn’t happen. The Danish driver had to overcome a series of last-minute setbacks just to make it to Portugal.

“It was a hectic off-season for us, and I have to admit we were running a bit behind schedule with our prep for Montalegre,” Linnemann explains.

“So we squeezed in a test session the Saturday before departure. Everything seemed to be working fine… until problems hit after just seven laps. The engine had been properly serviced and hadn’t even run much since. Honestly, I think it was just bad luck. But yeah, it was definitely a stressful moment. We were supposed to leave for Montalegre on Tuesday, and then the engine failed on Saturday,” he says with a smile.

“Thankfully, Motor Design in Sweden responded quickly and stepped in to work on the engine as early as Sunday. We wrapped up the repairs late Monday night and made it back to Denmark around five in the morning on Tuesday. After that, we reassembled the car, ran it on the dyno in the afternoon, and everything seemed to be back on track.”

On Thursday, Linnemann finally had a chance to breathe a little during the shakedown at the Montalegre circuit.

“We just found a damaged wire. Maybe when we were reassembling the car in a rush, we overlooked that detail. The important thing is we spotted it in time and got it fixed. We should be good to go for free practice. Hopefully, we can be fighting at the front and the car stays solid throughout the weekend.”

Initially entered with his Ford Fiesta, Linnemann ultimately opted to compete in the VW Polo—the same car he drove to victory last season at the Nysum circuit.

“I think the Fiesta can be just as competitive as the Polo, maybe even better. But we still need time to continue its development. We’ve made a few updates on the Fiesta, and now we need proper test sessions to fine-tune it. Originally, I hadn’t planned to travel to Portugal, so for the sake of simplicity, we went with the Polo. I drove it at the end of last season, I know it well, and I trust it. The Fiesta will get more attention later in the year.”