Impenetrable Portuguese pairing Armindo Araújo and Miguel Ramalho became the first crew in over a decade to secure two P-WRC titles in a row this weekend at Wales Rally GB. After three long days driving in treacherous conditions, they brought their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X home safely on the final round of the 2010 FIA Production car World Rally Championship to reassert their status as World Champions*.
Araújo had begun the event with an 18 point lead over Swedish rival Patrik Flodin (Subaru) and his eye set firmly on one goal: the Championship title. Refusing to be deterred from his chosen course, the defending Champion set strong times throughout and sealed a full house of podium finishes this season, despite committing to a risk-free drive.
Meanwhile, it was Estonian Pirelli Star Driver Ott Tänak (Mitsubishi) who claimed his second P-WRC victory of the season on his first rally in Great Britain. Relentless as ever, a cautious first loop on Day One was all the talented young driver needed to find his rhythm.
Throughout the first two days Tänak’s main rival for the victory was Championship contender Flodin. Flodin flew through the forbidding Welsh stages on Day One to claim six consecutive stage wins and was only limited by a broken steering arm on SS7, the final stage of the day, which cost him nearly a minute and a half. This promoted Tänak into the lead as Flodin fell to third, but the Swede wasn’t about to admit defeat. A two minute penalty for then-second-placed Araújo when he opted to change his turbo charger at Day One evening service put Flodin back in second overnight. He attacked the stages on Day Two with total conviction, immediately putting Tänak under pressure and narrowing the gap to his Estonian rival stage-by-stage.
However, despite his inexperience, Tänak proved unshakeable. Confidently negotiating the stages, Flodin was unable to blast to the head of the field as he had on Day One and instead had to chip away at the lead. Having narrowed the gap to 23 seconds by SS13, disaster struck for Flodin when his front suspension broke on the following stage. Forced to retire for the day before SS15, he watched the Championship title slip out of his grasp after an impressive season marked by three P-WRC wins and phenomenally quick stage times throughout. Tänak was then left free to take a more measured approach to the Day Three stages and seal the victory.
Kiwi Hayden Paddon took the final place on the podium after a difficult rally. On Day One he hit a rock on SS4. The damage to his Mitsubishi could not be repaired in remote service, leaving the Pirelli Star Driver nursing his Lancer through the afternoon stages. He was further plagued by set up problems during the first two days that weren’t resolved until midday service on Day Two. Local Welsh driver Jason Pritchard (Subaru) was delighted to come home fourth on his home event, while Flodin restarted on Day Three to seal a clean sweep of stage wins, totalling fifteen over the course of the event, and finish fifth in a 14-strong field of P-WRC finishers.
After an accident in a Czech national rally in August, Martin Semerád’s (CZE, Mitsubishi) P-WRC season was truncated when he was forced to miss the German and French rounds due to what the stewards ruled as a case of force majeure. Four months on, he came to GB to prove he was back on form. The 2009 Pirelli Star Driver set consistently quick times over the first two days, and until SS18 sat in second between Tänak and Araújo despite being ill. However, disaster struck when he went off the road and was unable to get back on track, forcing him to retire from the event.
*Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA
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– Credit: www.rallybuzz.com.