Podium for Bruno Magalhães at the Rally Islas Canarias
The Rally Islas Canarias (4th to 6th May) was the second round of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), the new ERC Junior U28 Championship as well as the Spanish Rally Championship.
And with much to play for, it was Bruno Magalhães who led the way amongst the ŠKODA drivers in what was his very first rally on tarmac in a FABIA R5. The Portuguese driver and his co-driver Hugo Magalhães could have finished higher too as they were involved in a tight tussle for second place with Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
Magalhães led his Polish rival by just 2.2 seconds after the first leg, but after falling behind on a wet and slippery stage 7 battled hard to cut the gap to just 4.1 seconds. But he couldn’t quite close the gap entirely and ended up just 6.4 seconds behind in third place.
Magalhães’ podium finish means he retains his lead of the overall European Rally Championship standings after two rounds.
Bruno Magalhães / Hugo Magalhães
Sylvain Michel / Jérôme Degout
Marijan Griebel / Stefan Kopczyk
With ŠKODA drivers at the top of both the ERC and ERC Junior U28 championship standings, all eyes will now turn to the next rounds of both championships. The third round of the 2017 ERC will be the Acropolis Rally in Greece (2nd to 4th June), while ERC Junior U28 championship will continue only in early August at the Polish Rally Rzeszow.
Ole Christian Veiby heads Norwegian championship standings after the Rally Sørland
In the fourth round of the Norwegian Rally Championship, the Rally Sørland (6th May), the young Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby claimed more crucial championship points with a third place finish.
Veiby, who had just returned from the long journey to New Zealand to compete in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) at the International Rally of Whangarei, stated beforehand that it had never really clicked for him at this event, but after a strong performance in New Zealand, his hopes were high.
And whilst Veiby and his co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen did manage to get their Printsport Oy FABIA R5 onto the podium and secure his first ever finish at this event, the Norwegian driver was not completely satisfied with his performance.
The result sees Veiby in a three-way tie for the Norwegian championship lead alongside Eyvind Brynildsen and Anders Grøndal. But it is unclear as of yet how many more rounds of the championship he will compete in.
With or without Ole Christian Veiby, the next round of the Norwegian Rally Championship will be the Aurskog-Høland Rally which takes place on 17th June.
Rallye Sulingen 2017
The Transilvania Rally (5th to 6th May) in Romania was both the second round of the Romanian championship and the season opener of the TER Series (Tour European Rally). It proved to be an interesting rally for the ŠKODA România Motorsport Team’s pairing of Dan Gîrtofan / Tudor Mârza. Tyre issues combined with wet and slippery conditions saw them adopt a cautious approach which meant they finished fourth in the overall and TER standings and second in the Romanian championship standings.
“It was tough because of the poor conditions on the opening stages,” explained Dan Gîrtofan. “The tyres didn’t feel good until the second loop of day two when we found a much faster pace. But by then we were too far back. But we scored some important points and can be positive going into the next event.”
Podium for Bruno Magalhães at the Rally Islas Canarias
The Rally Islas Canarias (4th to 6th May) was the second round of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), the new ERC Junior U28 Championship as well as the Spanish Rally Championship.
And with much to play for, it was Bruno Magalhães who led the way amongst the ŠKODA drivers in what was his very first rally on tarmac in a FABIA R5. The Portuguese driver and his co-driver Hugo Magalhães could have finished higher too as they were involved in a tight tussle for second place with Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
Magalhães led his Polish rival by just 2.2 seconds after the first leg, but after falling behind on a wet and slippery stage 7 battled hard to cut the gap to just 4.1 seconds. But he couldn’t quite close the gap entirely and ended up just 6.4 seconds behind in third place.
Magalhães’ podium finish means he retains his lead of the overall European Rally Championship standings after two rounds.
Bruno Magalhães / Hugo Magalhães
Sylvain Michel / Jérôme Degout
Marijan Griebel / Stefan Kopczyk
With ŠKODA drivers at the top of both the ERC and ERC Junior U28 championship standings, all eyes will now turn to the next rounds of both championships. The third round of the 2017 ERC will be the Acropolis Rally in Greece (2nd to 4th June), while ERC Junior U28 championship will continue only in early August at the Polish Rally Rzeszow.
Ole Christian Veiby heads Norwegian championship standings after the Rally Sørland
In the fourth round of the Norwegian Rally Championship, the Rally Sørland (6th May), the young Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby claimed more crucial championship points with a third place finish.
Veiby, who had just returned from the long journey to New Zealand to compete in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) at the International Rally of Whangarei, stated beforehand that it had never really clicked for him at this event, but after a strong performance in New Zealand, his hopes were high.
And whilst Veiby and his co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen did manage to get their Printsport Oy FABIA R5 onto the podium and secure his first ever finish at this event, the Norwegian driver was not completely satisfied with his performance.
The result sees Veiby in a three-way tie for the Norwegian championship lead alongside Eyvind Brynildsen and Anders Grøndal. But it is unclear as of yet how many more rounds of the championship he will compete in.
With or without Ole Christian Veiby, the next round of the Norwegian Rally Championship will be the Aurskog-Høland Rally which takes place on 17th June.
Rallye Sulingen 2017
The Transilvania Rally (5th to 6th May) in Romania was both the second round of the Romanian championship and the season opener of the TER Series (Tour European Rally). It proved to be an interesting rally for the ŠKODA România Motorsport Team’s pairing of Dan Gîrtofan / Tudor Mârza. Tyre issues combined with wet and slippery conditions saw them adopt a cautious approach which meant they finished fourth in the overall and TER standings and second in the Romanian championship standings.
“It was tough because of the poor conditions on the opening stages,” explained Dan Gîrtofan. “The tyres didn’t feel good until the second loop of day two when we found a much faster pace. But by then we were too far back. But we scored some important points and can be positive going into the next event.”
