McErlean and Treacy endure setbacks in Acropolis Rally Greece to finish 12th
Not for the first time, it was all about survival as the Irish crew of Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy endured setbacks in the EKO Acropolis Rally Greece, round seven of the WRC, where their passage through the seventeen demanding stages was far from free flowing as they strived to get a good rhythm. They eventually brought their Ford Puma Rally1 home in twelfth and the top M-Sport crew where they had to overcome punctures, suspension issues and a handbrake problem.
With his first victory in over eight months Estonian Ott Tanak (Hyundai i20 N Rally) ended the dominance of Toyota in this season's World Rally Championship. For the second rally in succession Tanak was locked in combat with eight time WR champion Sebastien Ogier (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) before finishing 32.8s ahead of the Frenchman.
There was late drama when Tanak's Hyundai developed a gearbox problem but he managed the situation to give Hyundai its first WR win of the season. French driver Adrian Fourmaux (Hyundai) recovered from a broken suspension to secure third - his first podium finish since the opening round in Monte Carlo when he also finished in the same position.
Tanak was in devastating form through Saturday's six stages where Ogier was the only driver to break the Estonian's dominance. Starting out with a 3s advantage, Tanak ended the day 43.6s clear of his nearest rival, who opted to keep out of trouble. French driver Fourmaux lost second place following an impact with a rock on SS 11 that damaged the rear suspension of his Hyundai. Although he lost over a minute and arrived at the stage finish with the tyre off the rim he was third overnight from Evans and Neuville.
Kalle Rovanpera retired his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 when he lost brakes and went off the road on SS11 where his team mate Takamoto Katsuta beached his car on the same stage. Both re-joined under Super Rally McErlean's M-Sport team mate Grégoire Munster also had issues with the handbrake of his Ford Puma and was sixth overnight.
Saturday's opening stage brought trouble for McErlean, who damaged the car's rear suspension after hitting a rock near the final corner of the stage. Along with co-driver Eoin Treacy they made some roadside repairs to stay in the event but incurred a road penalty (1m. 40s) when they arrived late for SS11.
"It was a big job. Firstly it was my mistake, we ran wide and hit a rock. It broke the rear toe arm, it was a big job because the bolts were bent. The driveshaft was broken also, that's why we lost so much time. It's like back to my front wheel drive days." said McErlean.
They lost more time on SS11 when they had to reverse at a hairpin due to the loss of the handbrake. Indeed, they had to complete the repeat loop with the same issue and were fifteenth overnight. At the end of the leg he said. "Before this rally I was trying to keep myself from using the handbrake too much, so it's good learning."
Faster than Ogier through the opening two stages of the final leg Tanak added 6.3s to his lead, further to a comment from Ogier that the Estonian only knows one pace (flat out) he responded, "He hasn't seen the flat out mode yet. We are managing. Knowing Seb, we had to control this morning. This was the stage to attack and luckily he didn't. Where it was smooth I was pushing."
Tanak went on to win but had a scare on the Power Stage (last stage) with a gearbox issue that saw Ogier take the extra ten points on offer for Sunday's leg and the Power Stage.
McErlean began the final day with a solid run through SS14 and went on to finish twelfth. At the finish he said, "It took sheer determination from the team, because every service there was some job. Hopefully it gets a bit easier from here in Estonia and Finland." His team mate Munster retired with a fuel related issue.
Irish driver Alex Denning and his SJM Theodore Racing team mate Macau's Charles Leong won the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia event in Fuji, Japan. From the fifth on the grid the Rathfarnham driver made a great start and was third at the first corner and into second by the end of the opening lap.
Posting the fastest lap of the race on lap three he stayed in touch with the race leader before the safety car was deployed. Team mate Leong then hunted down the race leader, who was subsequently called to pitlane to serve a penalty as Leong went on to take the chequered flag for the team to make it four wins and two second place finishes from six starts for SJM Theodore Racing outfit as they top the championship standings.
Meanwhile, French driver Stephane Lefebvre (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) took back-to-back wins in the Ypres Rally finishing 10.3s ahead of Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20 Rally2) with Dutch driver Jos Verstappen (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 13.6s further behind in third.
EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (Round 7, World Rally Championship) Lamia: 1. O. Tanak/M. Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 4h. 12m. 20.1s; 2. S. Ogier/V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+32.8s; 3. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally)+2m. 37.0s; 4. E. Evans/M. Scott (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+3m. 31.1s; 5. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+6m. 09.5s; 6. O. Solberg/E. Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+10m. 34.7s; 7. G. Greensmith/J. Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+11m. 28.5s; 8.Y. Rossel/A. Dunand (Citroen C3 Rally2)+11m. 43.7s; 9. K. Kajetanowicz/M. Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally)+12m. 56.7s; 10. A. Cachón/B. Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+14m. 19.9s;11. M. Prokop/M. Ernst (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+34m.06s.12. J. McErlean/E. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+16m 46.1s;
World Rally Championship for Drivers' Standings (After Round 7): 1. E. Evans 150pts; 2. S. Ogier 141pts; 3. O. Tanak 138pts; 4. K. Rovanpera 119pts; 5. T. Neuville 96pts; T. Katsuta 64pts; 7. A. Fourmaux 61pts; 8. S. Pajari 32pts; 9. O. Solberg 19pts; =10. G. Munster 18pts & J. McErlean 18pts.
World Rally Manufacturers' Championship Standings (After Round 7): 1. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 358pts; 2, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 293pts; 3. M-Sport Ford WRT 97pts; 4. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 57pts.
Ardeca Ypres Rally, Ypres: 1.S. Lefebvre/X. Portier (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 2h. 01m. 50.5s; 2. H. Paddon/J. Hudson (Hyundai i20 N Rally2)+10.3s; 3. J. Verstappen/R. Jamoul (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+23.9; 4. D. Sordo/R. Saiz (Porsche 992 Rally GT)+30.2s; 5. D. Vanneste/D. Squedin (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 31.4s; 6. C. Cherain/D. Withers (Porsche 992 Rally GT)+1m. 42.6s.
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