2 weeks have passed since A.Araujo was standing 3rd on the podium in Greece. But already the 4th round of the P-WRC Rally of Turkey was starting in the southern resort area of Antalya, Greece. The harsh gravel roads, intense sunlight, and scorching temperatures, were similar to those experienced in Greece.
Will the drivers and teams be able to make it through these extreme conditions and finish with favorable results to conclude the first half of the P-WRC season?
All hopes lay on the TYPE Gr.N equipped cars of A.Araujo of Ralliart Italy and E.Vertunov of SUBARU RALLY TEAM RUSSIA.
On Day 1 A.Araujo was looking to carry on with his positive performance from Greece, but ran into trouble early on in SS2, damaging his right rear brake hose. With his start stalled, he was unable to pick up the pace afterwards. During the same SS2, E.Vertunov lost control and drove half of his car off the course because a rock damaged the arm on the right side of the car. Luckily, with the excellent support from his mechanics, they were able to repair the damage during the 30minute service time at midday!! E.Vertunov was able to continue, stepping up the pace, to end day 1 as the top Subaru driver!
As day 2 started, both A.Araujo and E.Vertunov faced the rigorous Turkish conditions head on. Unfortunately A.Araujo ended up breaking his front differential and E.Vertunov damaged his OE rubber upper mount and had continued transmission woes from Greece. Even within these conditions, both drivers’ concentration and the supporting mechanics were striving for victory and both teams were able to perform consistently to rise in the rankings. E.Vertunov finished the day just one place behind a podium position.
On the final day, E.Vertunov drove aggressively to try and finish on the podium, but the unexpected happened.... On the last corner of the last SS, with less than 1km left in the rally, he went into the corner too fast, spinning his car around. He managed to turn his car back around and drive the remaining 1km home, but lost valuable time and finished the Rally of Turkey in 6th position. With E.Vertunov dropping in the ranking, A.Araujo was able to finish in 5th position! Both teams equipped with TYPE Gr.N shock absorbers were able to finish the rally with valuable points.
Expectations are high for both teams to perform for the next round being held at the end of July in Finland. |
