ERC
Meeke shows his magic on ERC comeback
Kris Meeke is the driver to beat on JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion after he moved to the top of the order by winning Saturday morning’s opening test.
Just 0.9sec behind Teemu Suninen following Friday’s nighttime action, Meeke completed the 12.02-kilometre Aberffrwd stage leading the penultimate round of the FIA European Rally Championship by 11.9sec after Suninen hit trouble.
The provisional ERC points leader ahead of his debut on the Welsh Tarmac event, Suninen dropped more than 10sec when he spun exiting a tight right-hand turn 4.49ks into SS5.
“It started to rain and I just lost the rear at a slow-speed junction,” Pirelli-equipped Suninen said after dropping 12.7sec off the lead and 0.8sec behind new second-placed driver Miko Marczyk, the defending ERC champion.
Michelin-supplied Meeke, who was 13.6sec faster than Suninen, said: “I had a good run. There were different surface changes that I didn’t pick up on the recce it nearly caught me out. What a stage. Absolutely fantastic.”
Jakub Matulka is fourth after five stages, one place ahead of Lancia-powered Andrea Mabellini. Max McRae continues to occupy sixth overall as the top British championship contender. However, Simone Tempestini dropped from seventh to ninth behind Meirion Evans and Osian Pryce, with fellow Team MRF Tyres driver Erik Cais completing the top 10 after he went third quickest on SS5.
Sam Touzel, who was 11th after SS4, crashed out on a high-speed left-hander after 5.3 kilometres of SS5.
Ville Vatanen leads FIA ERC3 after winning SS5 with Timo Schulz ahead in FIA ERC4 and FIA Junior ERC. Colin Dünker, who was delayed by a handbrake issue on SS3, was the fastest front-wheel-drive contender on SS5 to underline his huge potential.
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