Åhlin extends British championship lead with victory at the Pirelli International Rally
Fredrik Åhlin made it two wins from two events to extend his lead at the top of the MSA British Rally Championship (MSA BRC) standings by winning the Pirelli International Rally (29th to 30th April) in his CA1 Sport run ŠKODA FABIA R5. Co-driven by Torstein Eriksen, who was celebrating his birthday, the Swedish driver mastered the two-day gravel event in Kielder forest to clinch victory by 39.4 seconds. Despite winning just a single stage, Åhlin put in a composed and professional drive and led from stage 3 to the end of the rally.
Martin McCormack and David Moynihan made sure there were two ŠKODAs on the podium, after finishing third in their McGeehan Motorsport run FABIA R5 for the Tiger Risk Rally Team. A puncture on stage 4 cost them time, but they fought hard to score their best BRC result of the season so far.
For David Bogie and Kevin Rae, driving a FABIA R5 prepared by the CA1 Sport team, it was a case of what might have been. They recovered magnificently well from a time-consuming brake problem during the first leg to set a stunning pace over the second day, winning all four stages on their way to a fourth-placed finish.
There was one more FABIA R5 inside the top 10, as Tom Preston / Andrew Roughead, also part of the CA1 Sport team, finished in eighth spot overall.
The next round of the MSA British Rally Championship is the Scottish Rally which will take place on 19th and 20th May.
2017 Pirelli Rally
Rallye de Wallonie: De Mevius secures podium, Verschueren retains Belgian championship lead
Ghislain de Mevius and his co-driver Johan Jalet excelled at the Rallye de Wallonie (28th to 30th April), the fourth round of the Belgian Rally Championship (BRC), bringing BMA’s FABIA R5 home in second place overall. It was de Mevius’ first event of the season and he made his familiarity with this rally count, to finish just 46.4 seconds behind the overall winner.
De Mevius made his consistency pay and having settled into fourth spot for much of the second leg of this rally, benefitted from problems for both Guillaume Dilley and championship leader Vincent Verschueren on stages 19 and 20 respectively, to climb up to second before holding on to secure the runners-up spot.
For the GoDrive FABIA R5 of Vincent Verschueren / Veronique Hostens a third place finish ensured they retained the championship lead. It could have been even better as they sat second for much of the rally and were pushing Kevin Abbring hard for the lead. But then on stage 20, tyre issues saw them fall back to fourth place. Nevertheless, the fastest time on the final stage saw them pip Guillaume Dilley for the podium place by just 0.5 seconds.
Xavier Bouche was the next FABIA R5 driver to finish inside the top 10. He led after the opening two super special stages, but a 30-second penalty on stage 3 saw him and his co-driver Laurent Royer fall back into the pack and they ended up in seventh place overall.
The next round of the Belgian Rally Championship will be the Sezoens Rally on 19th and 20th May.
2017 Rallye de Wallonie
Podium finish for Herczig at the Ózd Rallye as Vincze endures final stage woes
Norbert Herczig came agonizingly close to his second successive victory of the season at the Ózd Rallye (28th to 30th April), in the second round of the Hungarian Rally Championship (ORB). Driving a FABIA R5 for the ŠKODA Rally Team Hungaria, alongside his Slovak co-driver Igor Bacigál, he finished just 13.8 seconds behind the overall winner.
Herczig had led for the opening three stages before slipping back to third on stage 4, where they remained until the final stage when an incident with fellow FABIA R5 driver Ferenc Vincze saw then elevated to second in the final overall standings.
For Ferenc Vincze and his co-driver Attila Bazsó, who were driving for the S-Motorsport SE team, it was a case of what might have been, after final stage problems saw them fall from second to fifth in the overall standings right at the end.
The other ŠKODA FABIA R5 to finish inside the top 10 was the Ranga Rally Team’s crew of László Ranga Jr. / Imre Tóth, who were one place behind Vincze in sixth place.
The next round of the Hungarian Rally Championship will be the Szombathely Rallye, which takes place from 19th to 21st May.
2017 Ózd Rallye
2017 Rally Argentina
2017 Rally of Whangarei
2017 Rallye Prešov
Åhlin extends British championship lead with victory at the Pirelli International Rally
Fredrik Åhlin made it two wins from two events to extend his lead at the top of the MSA British Rally Championship (MSA BRC) standings by winning the Pirelli International Rally (29th to 30th April) in his CA1 Sport run ŠKODA FABIA R5. Co-driven by Torstein Eriksen, who was celebrating his birthday, the Swedish driver mastered the two-day gravel event in Kielder forest to clinch victory by 39.4 seconds. Despite winning just a single stage, Åhlin put in a composed and professional drive and led from stage 3 to the end of the rally.
Martin McCormack and David Moynihan made sure there were two ŠKODAs on the podium, after finishing third in their McGeehan Motorsport run FABIA R5 for the Tiger Risk Rally Team. A puncture on stage 4 cost them time, but they fought hard to score their best BRC result of the season so far.
For David Bogie and Kevin Rae, driving a FABIA R5 prepared by the CA1 Sport team, it was a case of what might have been. They recovered magnificently well from a time-consuming brake problem during the first leg to set a stunning pace over the second day, winning all four stages on their way to a fourth-placed finish.
There was one more FABIA R5 inside the top 10, as Tom Preston / Andrew Roughead, also part of the CA1 Sport team, finished in eighth spot overall.
The next round of the MSA British Rally Championship is the Scottish Rally which will take place on 19th and 20th May.
2017 Pirelli Rally
Rallye de Wallonie: De Mevius secures podium, Verschueren retains Belgian championship lead
Ghislain de Mevius and his co-driver Johan Jalet excelled at the Rallye de Wallonie (28th to 30th April), the fourth round of the Belgian Rally Championship (BRC), bringing BMA’s FABIA R5 home in second place overall. It was de Mevius’ first event of the season and he made his familiarity with this rally count, to finish just 46.4 seconds behind the overall winner.
De Mevius made his consistency pay and having settled into fourth spot for much of the second leg of this rally, benefitted from problems for both Guillaume Dilley and championship leader Vincent Verschueren on stages 19 and 20 respectively, to climb up to second before holding on to secure the runners-up spot.
For the GoDrive FABIA R5 of Vincent Verschueren / Veronique Hostens a third place finish ensured they retained the championship lead. It could have been even better as they sat second for much of the rally and were pushing Kevin Abbring hard for the lead. But then on stage 20, tyre issues saw them fall back to fourth place. Nevertheless, the fastest time on the final stage saw them pip Guillaume Dilley for the podium place by just 0.5 seconds.
Xavier Bouche was the next FABIA R5 driver to finish inside the top 10. He led after the opening two super special stages, but a 30-second penalty on stage 3 saw him and his co-driver Laurent Royer fall back into the pack and they ended up in seventh place overall.
The next round of the Belgian Rally Championship will be the Sezoens Rally on 19th and 20th May.
2017 Rallye de Wallonie
Podium finish for Herczig at the Ózd Rallye as Vincze endures final stage woes
Norbert Herczig came agonizingly close to his second successive victory of the season at the Ózd Rallye (28th to 30th April), in the second round of the Hungarian Rally Championship (ORB). Driving a FABIA R5 for the ŠKODA Rally Team Hungaria, alongside his Slovak co-driver Igor Bacigál, he finished just 13.8 seconds behind the overall winner.
Herczig had led for the opening three stages before slipping back to third on stage 4, where they remained until the final stage when an incident with fellow FABIA R5 driver Ferenc Vincze saw then elevated to second in the final overall standings.
For Ferenc Vincze and his co-driver Attila Bazsó, who were driving for the S-Motorsport SE team, it was a case of what might have been, after final stage problems saw them fall from second to fifth in the overall standings right at the end.
The other ŠKODA FABIA R5 to finish inside the top 10 was the Ranga Rally Team’s crew of László Ranga Jr. / Imre Tóth, who were one place behind Vincze in sixth place.
The next round of the Hungarian Rally Championship will be the Szombathely Rallye, which takes place from 19th to 21st May.
