MONSTER Sport Europe Suzuki drivers Guy Wilks and P-G Andersson have finished first and second in the Junior World Rally Championship classification at the end of Rally Mexico, promoting them to first and second in the championship points table! Guy took the lead on the opening stage of the all-gravel event, round two of the series. The Englishman dominated his class after setting 11 fastest stage times out of 14, finishing an excellent 11th in the overall standings. The third Ignis of Pavel Valousek, run by JM Engineering, was fourth. Only four runners finished this incredibly tough event - and three of them were Suzukis!
The last leg of the Rally Mexico comprised just two stages, but the final test was one of the most difficult and certainly the longest of the entire rally at 44 kilometres. Weather conditions were once more hot and sunny, with the two concluding stages containing a wide variety of speeds and corners.
Guy had a scare leaving service in the morning, when his mechanics found it almost impossible to refit the sumpguard because of the heavy battering it had taken during the previous day. He picked up a two and a half minute penalty for leaving service late, but his lead was already more than 10 minutes so the time loss was of little consequence. Guy concentrated on bringing the car home safely without taking any risks on the final two stages. He eventually won by a substantial margin.
P-G rejoined the rally today thanks to the new re-start regulations, after missing the last two stages of leg two. An engine mount sheared on the day's penultimate stage and broke the sump, so P-G opted to switch off the engine and recover the car to service picking up the mandatory five minute penalty for every stage missed. However, his margin over the third-placed competitorwas so big that he was able to re-join still in the second place he had held from the start of the rally. Despite suffering from flu, P-G battled through to the finish to secure second place in the championship.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article