Junior ERC
Carlberg edging Pérez for Junior ERC joy
Calle Carlberg and Sergi Pérez are once again proving to be the FIA Junior ERC asphalt aces with the pair split by 7.8sec at the end of Rally di Roma Capitale’s opening leg.
While it was Pérez who came out on top of the Tarmac-based season-opener in Spain, Carlberg tops the order heading into Sunday’s leg of the second sealed-surface round of the Junior ERC season.
Sergi Pérez is placed second overall
© At World
After Tuukka Kauppinen set the pace in the Hankook-equipped category through the Friday evening super special stage in Rome aboard his Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF, Carlberg went on a Saturday morning charge. The Opel Corsa Rally4 driver completed the opening loop leading Pérez by 11.3sec after the championship-topping Swede went quickest on all three stages.
“It was hot like expected but really good, I’ve been really happy about the first loop,” Carlberg said at the midday halt in Fiuggi. “We played the strategy quite well with the tyres, the pacenotes have been good and Jørgen [Eriksen, co-driver] has been doing a good job. The Hankook tyres really kept up and were really good across the stages.”
Carlberg was quickest again on SS5 but lost vital seconds on SS6 when he was slowed by a driver running ahead on the road encountering mechanical issues.
“We did what we could but unfortunately we caught a Rally3 car on stage six,” Carlberg explained. “Normally you don’t struggle with the dust on a Tarmac rally but in the forest with all the cuts it felt like a gravel rally and we struggled to see and lost quite a bit of time. We took that as motivation to put in a good time on the last one and we’re still in the lead.”
“Normally you don’t struggle with the dust on a Tarmac rally but in the forest with all the cuts it felt like a gravel rally and we struggled to see and lost quite a bit of time."
Pérez, driving a Peugeot 208 Rally4, reckoned he could have been closer to Carlberg had it not been for a brief off on SS4. “Calle is pushing hard, but on SS4 I had a little problem when I went off the road and lost a little bit [of time]. The corner, a left corner, was so dirty and in the exit I go on the throttle too early and go out of the road. Tomorrow we have two long stages and of course we will try to the end.”
Lancia-driving Jaspar Vaher was third after four stages but slipped to fourth behind Craig Rahill (Peugeot) on SS6 when he spun. He lost more time when he completed SS7 with the left-rear wheel missing from his car following an off into a ditch.
“I was probably pushing too much but near there end there was much gravel, the corner tightened, we ran wide into the ditch and in the ditch there was some concrete that we hit with the rim and the rim broke,” Vaher said. “On the second to last stage we had a spin on a right corner towards the end. It was quite strange because I’ve never had a spin in a front-wheel-drive car. We lost too much time, it was not easy.”
There were no such problems for Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Rahill, who is in the podium battle for the second event running. “It’s been tough but I’m happy enough,” he said. “We need to keep it steady but it’s a new experience trying to manage the tyres and brakes. And I’ve never done stages so long.”
Craig Rahill is perfectly placed for a podium finish on Sunday
© At-World
Ioan Lloyd is fifth after a brake issue nearing the finish of SS7. ACI Team Italia-supported Francesco Dei Ceci is sixth on his home Junior ERC counter with Swiss rookie Yohan Suroca impressing in seventh place followed by Kauppinen, Keelan Grogan, Leevi Lassila and Aoife Raftery, who was slowed by an overheating issue on SS4.
Making his return from injury, Kavin Saraiva holds 12th place overnight, but it proved to be a frustrating day for Kevin Lempu and Luca Pröglhöf, who both retired. While Lempu is expected to restart on Sunday, Pröglhöf will go no further after he rolled on SS4, albeit without injury to he nor co-driver Christina Ettel.
All Junior ERC drivers are eligible for ERC4 points with the category featuring several competitors from the Trofeo Lancia for the first time. While the top four classification mirrors the Junior ERC order, Gianandrea Pisani holds fifth place with Andrea Mazzocchi and Giorgio Cogni ninth and 11th respectively.
Meanwhile, ERC4 regulars Catherine Rǎdulescu and Ciprian Lupu are 26th and 27th respectively. Rǎdulescu was hampered by an overheating issue while Lupu lost time with an overshoot early on.
Rally di Roma Capitale’s deciding leg tomorrow (Sunday) consists of six stages over a competitive distance of 98.34 kilometres and begins with the 11.58-kilometre Guarcino - Altipiani stage from 08:25 local time.
