WRC 2
Home hero Virves ahead in WRC2 as top six covered by 10sec
Robert Virves claimed the overnight WRC2 lead on Friday at Delfi Rally Estonia but with a mere 10sec dividing the top six following seven stages of action, the local hero has no space for complacency.
Home hero Virves ahead in WRC2 as top six covered by 10sec
Robert Virves claimed the overnight WRC2 lead on Friday at Delfi Rally Estonia but with a mere 10sec dividing the top six following seven stages of action, the local hero has no space for complacency.
Entering his home rally with two wins from two starts so far this season in WRC2, it was clear the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Virves would have a target on his rear spoiler, but the Estonian rose to the occasion, holding off Teemu Suninen’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 to lead by 2.5sec.
Teemu Suninen continually pushed for top times across Friday
© At World
It also puts him in line to take home first prize in the WRC Promoter-backed prize fund for the three best-finishing young Estonian drivers.
“The competition is extremely, extremely strong, so it's a lot of work if we want to stay in this position,” reflected the former FIA Junior WRC champion at day’s end. “There are many many angry guys behind us so it is definitely not easy.”
Mikko Heikkilä was consistently among WRC2's Friday pacesetters
© At World
The ‘angry’ drivers were led by a plethora of Finns and Estonians, with Swede Mille Johansson, in 10th, the first non-Estonian or Finnish driver, but remarkably only 27.3sec off Virves, making Friday one of the tightest days in WRC2 in recent memory.
It was Finn Mikko Heikkilä in his Fabia creating the early momentum with the opening stage win, 0.1sec clear of Suninen and WRC Promoter-backed Patrick Enok. But Virves bit back on the very next test and held on for the remainder of the day.
Despite his early pace, Heikkilä had to settle for sixth overnight after he reported losing too much time in the ruts on repeated stages. The ERC event winner is 0.5sec off the Fabia of former WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm, who trailed the breakout star of Friday, Jaspar Vaher.
In his maiden WRC2 start, Toyota Gazoo Racing development driver Vaher started the day with a spin on SS1, dropping 9.1sec as a result. But the 19-year-old showed why he has earned the support of the Japanese manufacturer, charging up the standings from 13th to third, picking up a shared-quickest time along the way.
Jan Solans made a high-speed exit from Friday competition
© At World
Vaher was not the only teenager starring in the top 10, with young Finn Tuukka Kauppinen battling it out with Enok, eventually accepting eighth overnight, one spot ahead of M-Sport Ford’s Romet Jürgensson.
Among the big names to not complete Friday was Jan Solans. The Spaniard was in 14th place when he rolled into retirement 7.4km into SS3.
