FIA Junior WRC - Deutschland: Suarez leads after opening stages in Germany Spain’s José Suárez heads the FIA Junior WRC Championship leaderboard after Thursday’s opening two stages at ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Points leader Pontus Tidemand (SWE) and Yeray Lemes (ESP) hold second and third places with all ten competitors in their Hankook-shod, GEM-fuelled Ford Fiestas R2s arriving safely back at Trier’s central service area for the overnight halt. Suárez, currently second in the standings, got off to a flying start with the fastest time on SS1, the 23.5km Blankenheim test, that followed a impressive opening ceremony in Cologne. Tidemand was second fastest just ahead of Lemes who then struck back with the quickest time on the next 14.1km stage of Sauertal, just 0.3 seconds quicker than Suárez. Tidemand followed in third. At the end of today’s two stages the podium spots are held overnight by Suárez, Tidemand and Lemes although there’s just 12.7 seconds between the three drivers heading into Friday’s six stages, which total more than 131 competitive timed kilometres. Another six stages totalling a further 153km take place on Saturday ending in SS14, which marks the final stage of the Junior WRC itinerary. Suárez knows that a win here plus as many Stage Points for fastest stage times as possible could be crucial in helping to close down the gap in the series standings to current leader Scandinavian Tidemand who, in theory, is more at home on snow or gravel roads. Marius Aasen (NOR) and Michael Burri (SUI) are closely matched in fourth and fifth position after taking turns to set the fourth fastest time through Thursday’s two stages. Likewise for Sander Pärn (EST) and Martin Koči (SVK) who sit in sixth and seventh respectively. Next in line are Niko Nieminen (FIN), Murat Bostanci (TUR) and Pieter-Jan-Michiel Cracco (EST), the latter two picking up time penalties which force them down the leaderboard. FIA Junior WRC – Top Three Quotes José Suárez: “Fastest on the first stage was good, but it could maybe have been quicker – I took it relatively easy to check I didn’t have a puncture after hitting something when I cut a corner. On the second stage I just made sure of putting in a good time without taking risks. From now on it’s flat out all the way. I’m going for the win.” Pontus Tidemand: “I’m actually a little bit surprised to be so close to the lead. These first two stages were all about decent times without any dramas and the car set-up feels perfect. If I get the same feeling quickly tomorrow I’m going to try and put some pressure on the other two.” Yeray Lemes: “I was not too happy with the first stage – I lost a lot of time when I went off the road. The second stage was good even though I ended it with a very long brake pedal. I am still only 50 per cent into my rhythm. It’s a long time since my last asphalt rally in the Fiesta R2 so I think there’s a lot more to come from me between now and the finish.” FIA Junior WRC – Provisional Classification Day One ADAC Rallye Deutschland (Source FIA Junior WRC) 1. J. Suárez (ESP) / C. Carrera (ESP), 13 minutes, 59.8 seconds 2. P. Tidemand (SWE) / O. Floene (NOR), +10.7s 3. Y. Lemes (ESP) / R. Penate (ESP), +12.7s 4. M. Aasen (NOR) / M. Engan (NOR), +32.0s 5. M. Burri (SUI) / G. Moreau (FRA), 36.6s 6. S. Pärn (EST) / K. Järveoja (EST), 41.5s 7. M. Koči (SVK) / P. Stary (CZE), +46.1s 8. N-P. Nieminen (FIN) / M. Korhonen (FIN), +2m15.9s 9. M .Bostanci (TUR) / O. Vatansever (TUR), +2m51.2s 10. P-J-M. Cracco (EST) / F Miclotte (BEL), +3m08.1s
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 22:30:15 +0000
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