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British drivers score impressive ERC Junior Under 28 podiums
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British drivers Chris Ingram and Rhys Yates both scored impressive podium results on the opening round of the FIA European Rally Championship Junior Under 28 category – with Chris winning and Rhys coming home third on Rally Azores.
Chris, co-driven by Ross Whittock, also finished a magnificent fourth overall in a ŠKODA Fabia R5, which was his first rally in a four-wheel drive car. Rhys and co-driver Elliott Edmondson finished eighth overall in a similar car.
Chris, the reigning ERC Junior U27 champion (who won the title last year in a front-wheel drive Opel Adam R2), only missed out on an overall podium finish after a puncture cost him time and forced him to drive conservatively when he was left with no spare and a loop of stages back to service.
“It’s a dream debut for me,” said Chris. “It’s been awesome, I’m learning the car still and I work so hard to do this. I’m really proud for that. But I’m gutted not to be on the overall podium. We got a puncture on Friday and had a stall on Sete Cidades, losing 20 seconds. I’m a little bit frustrated but I can’t complain because I’ve been fighting rally legends and I’ve never been in this car. The biggest challenge I faced was the pace notes. They’re for a two-wheel drive car, they’re not making much sense and I’m having to think so hard about it. It’s also difficult for Ross to adapt because it’s the first time he’s been at this pace. We’ve pretty much left the car alone with a few clicks here and there as we adapt to it.”
“It’s been a really good weekend,” said Rhys. “It started well with a good time in qualifying. We had a few spins getting used to the new car but I’ve really enjoyed it. There is a lot of stuff to catch you out and we had a few near-misses on the final stage. But I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, it’s been awesome. We had a small spin on Thursday and then we had a small spin on Friday. It’s a little frustrating because if you take 30s off we’re a bit closer but I’m happy with where we were. Maybe you throw caution to the wind on a different rally and get away with it. Here there’s no chance. On Saturday we went from third on the road to first on the road in one stage. Frank Tore [Larsen] unfortunately went off and his car was sat across the road. We had to sit and wait for what felt like forever while they bounced it out the way. Then we started catching dust near the end and I thought ‘what’s up’. Then we saw the Hyundai [of Carlos Vieira]. The wheel looked pretty bent. The fog was hard work and it makes you more hesitant. But the car was absolutely spot and Elliott has been bang on and it was good to use his experience from last year. It’s my first time with Elliott, my first time in the ŠKODA and my first time on this rally so it’s been a good weekend.”
Swedish pair Fredrik Åhlin/Joakim Sjöberg finished second in the ERC Junior Under 28 (and fifth overall) in another Fabia R5.
Rally Azores was won by Russian pairing Alexey Lukyanuk/Alexey Arnautov (Ford Fiesta R5), who finished 16.4 seconds ahead of local heroes Ricardo Moura/Antonío Costa ŠKODA Fabia R5. Portugal’s Bruno Magalhães/Hugo Magalhães (ŠKODA Fabia R5) were third.
