Huge lead for Suninen in WRC 2

Teemu Suninen escaped the carnage that afflicted his rivals to lead WRC 2 at Rally Guanajuato Mexico by more than seven minutes after Friday’s first full day of action.

The Finn reeled off a string of five consecutive stage wins during the afternoon in his Skoda Fabia R5 to lead Nicolas Fuchs’ similar car by 7min 06.1sec after a hot, dusty day’s competition in the mountains east of the rally base of León.

Armin Kremer held a slender advantage after Thursday night’s three short appetiser speed tests, but Fuchs (pictured below) quickly moved ahead this morning by winning two tough gravel stages.

However, a turbo pipe problem slowed the Peruvian and allowed Suninen ahead, before damaged rear suspension cost a further five minutes and left Suninen clear.

Third was season debutant Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari in another Fabia R5. The Qatari twice stopped to change punctures and he was 64.5sec behind Fuchs and almost three minutes clear of Hubert Ptaszek’s Peugeot 208 T16.

The Pole overcame a catalogue of problems in this morning’s opening stage, including a puncture, a damaged gearbox and brakes that only worked intermittently. Max Rendina was fifth, and the only other surviving driver, despite brake troubles in his Ford Fiesta R5.

German Kremer retired after breaking his Fabia R5’s rear left suspension, Russia’s Radek Shaymiev stopped with suspected water pressure problems and Khalid Al Suwaidi was also sidelined.

Head to WRC+ to see the latest onboard and video reports from Rally Guanajuato Mexico