MADS EQUALS MONTE BEST, EVANS CLAIMS EPIC MONTE WIN
2016.01.25 06:48
M-Sport World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg has equalled his best Rallye Monte-Carlo result at the opening round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) – bringing his Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta RS WRC home in fourth place. M-Sport World Rally Team’s Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry secured an epic victory at this weekend’s Rallye Monte-Carlo.
M-Sport World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg has equalled his best Rallye Monte-Carlo result at the opening round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) – bringing his Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta RS WRC home in fourth place. M-Sport World Rally Team’s Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry secured an epic victory at this weekend’s Rallye Monte-Carlo.
The opening round of the season is always a challenge, but it was even more so for Østberg who had to familiarise himself with a new team, car and co-driver – fellow countryman Ola Fløene.
For the past seven years, Østberg had been navigated through the stages by a Swedish voice calling a different style of pacenote. The change would take some perfecting, but he and Fløene used the competitive seat time wisely – growing in confidence throughout the weekend.
Proving how intelligent he is in his approach to all rallies, Østberg read the road perfectly and was rewarded with a strong result ahead of next month’s Rally Sweden.
In the sister M-Sport Fiesta RS WRC, Éric Camilli showed real promise on his WRC debut. Proving to be a quick learner, the Frenchman set the fifth fastest time on what was only his fourth competitive stage in a world rally car – an incredible achievement given his limited experience.
Unfortunately, this lack of experience would be to his disadvantage on Friday afternoon when he and co-driver Nicolas Klinger slid off the road on an ice-strewn section of SS6.
With damage to the rollcage, the pairing were forced to make an untimely exit but refused to leave the service park. Joining the team for the remainder of the event, their enthusiasm and determination to succeed has not subsided.
Mads Østberg (4th) said:
“There were lots of new things for us to discover this weekend so I’m really satisfied to have equalled my best result at Rallye Monte-Carlo. It’s been a challenging rally, but I think that we coped with everything really well. Ola and I have made a good step forward and we’ll be looking to do the same again in Sweden.
“I also have to thank the team because the car has performed perfectly all weekend. This was a great start and now we’re really looking forward to Sweden where we hope to be able to fight for the podium.”
Éric Camilli (DNF) said:
“Our event might have been shorter than we had hoped, but we learnt many things – about the car and about the level of the WRC. On Friday morning I was able to push a bit more and I was really pleased with the times as it was a bit of a surprise to be that competitive that quickly!
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way during the afternoon. I really wanted to finish the rally and I think that was the problem because I was driving far too carefully – far too slowly – and slid off the road on a section of ice.
“Unfortunately, there was some damage to the rollcage and we were unable to restart the rally. Of course I was disappointed that my rally ended early but it has not reduced my motivation.
“The times that we were able to set has shown me that we have the potential to be fast one day and this was definitely not a bad rally for me. My ambition is higher than ever and we will be sure to learn from our experiences this weekend.”
Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“It’s been a good weekend for us. Mads and Ola’s partnership is coming along nicely and it was great to see him equal his best Rallye Monte-Carlo performance.
“We know how intelligently Mads approaches his rallies and he has shown that he can never be discounted for a strong result. They drove to their own pace whilst perfecting the relationship inside the car and I am sure that they will both be really looking forward to Rally Sweden.
“It was a shame that Eric’s rally ended prematurely, but I have been really pleased with him and Nicolas. To set the fifth fastest time on only your fourth stage with a world rally car is no mean feat and it just proved to all of us that he has the potential to go all the way.
“He understood his mistake and I have no doubt that he will have learnt a lot this weekend. It was a shame that they missed out on some experience, but they didn’t go home. They stayed with the team until the end of the event. That really meant a lot and they have already gained a lot of respect amongst all of the M-Sport personnel.”
Dominating the first round of the FIA World Rally Championship’s principal support series (WRC 2), the pairing also concluded the overall event in a strong eighth place – proving the extent of the upgrades M-Sport has made with the Ford Fiesta R5 EVO.
The rally did not start as Evans would have liked, picking up a puncture on the very first speed test, but it wasn’t long before he had made up that time and more – claiming the lead on only the fourth stage of the rally.
A second puncture hindered them on Saturday morning (SS9) but come the following stage, the lead was theirs once again.
Throughout the course of the weekend, Evans and the Fiesta R5 EVO have been in a class of their own – regularly beating their rivals by 20 or 30 seconds a stage.
His two punctures cost him three minutes to the second-placed WRC 2 Skoda Fabia R5, but Evans was still able to finish more than two minutes ahead of Esapekka Lappi – an incredible achievement when considering that he had just one day of testing on full-snow which was none representative of the conditions faced in the rally.
Despite backing well off the pace to secure victory through the final stages, Evans has confirmed the Blue Oval’s position at the head of the WRC 2 standings.
The Welshman will next tackle Rally Sweden – eager for a repeat performance in just under three weeks’ time.
Elfyn Evans (1st WRC 2) said:
“We’ve had a lot of fun this weekend and I’m pleased to have delivered such a strong result for the team. It was a big weekend with the debut of the Fiesta R5 EVO and I think this result goes to prove the extent of the upgrades.
“I have to say that the car has been fantastic – beyond what we were all hoping for. The progress that the team have made is incredible and I think it underlines the fact that the Fiesta is the best car in the category.
“Of course it wasn’t an easy event for us – Monte-Carlo never is! I had a new co-driver – who did a great job all weekend – and a new car. If that wasn’t enough, we also suffered two punctures over the course of the event which certainly made things interesting!
“Once we had a good lead we backed off the pace to consolidate the win, but I think that we have proven what we are capable of. Now I’m really looking forward to Rally Sweden where I’m sure the competition will be tough!”
M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“We could not have asked for more with the debut of the new evolution Fiesta R5 and Elfyn has driven brilliantly all weekend. To suffer two punctures and still win the rally by a significant margin is very impressive indeed.
“A great deal of work has gone into these upgrades and it is very satisfying to see such a positive result straight out of the box. The team have worked extremely hard and unlocked a massive increase of power which confirms our position at the head of the WRC 2 standings.
“Moreover, the whole team are delighted to see Elfyn really enjoy his driving again. Last season was not the easiest for him and we were keen to see him regain the confidence that he had lost. Success is the best remedy for that and if he can keep up this level of performance then I think he will enjoy a lot of success this year.”