› Gus Greensmith and co-driver Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) finish the fourth round of the FIA World Championship fourth in class RC2
› Pepe López/David Vázquez (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) collect championship points as third in category WRC2
› WRC Masters Cup classification features a full Škoda podium.
Zagreb (CRO), 21 April 2024 – With five customer team crews inside the top 10, Škoda was the dominant brand of the RC2 classification at Rally Croatia. At the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Toksport WRT’s Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson drove a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to fourth position in the class. Pepe López/David Vazquez took third position in category WRC2 for team Mapo Motorsport. Armin Kremer/Ella Kremer (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) won the WRC Masters Cup classification for team Baumschlager Rallye & Racing.
After 283 kilometres of special stages, Toksport WRT’s Gus Greensmith and co-driver Jonas Andersson reached the finish as highest placed Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew. The British-Swedish pairing lost some time with a puncture and dropped from third to fourth place of the class on Saturday. “We are still in the fight for the podium,” Greensmith said at the leg’s finish. The Sunday stages proved him right. Step by step, Greensmith/Andersson closed the gap to third placed Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen. In the end, the Toksport WRT crew missed a podium position by the whisker of 0.3 seconds. “Without the punctures, the weekend would have been good,” Greensmith concluded.
The British driver was not registered for WRC2 championship points this time. In this category, Pepe López and David Vázquez took the honours of highest placed Škoda crew. Driving for Mapo Motorsport, the Spanish pairing made its Croatian debut. Despite their limited knowledge of the broken asphalt stages – and a time-consuming spin – López/Vázquez held third position in WRC2 throughout the event. „We are happy, it’s good for the championship,“ López said at the finish.
Another Škoda crew inside the top 10 of RC2 class were Eyvind Brynildsen and co-driver Jørn Listerud from Norway. Brynildsen, who last competed in the WRC nearly two years ago, drove a Toksport WRT run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to seventh position of the class. Lauri Joona/Janni Hussi of team TGS Worldwide brought their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 home eighth in RC2. Italians Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo of team ACI Italia) followed in nineth position.
The WRC Masters Cup classification, reserved for drivers 50 years and older, featured an all- Škoda podium. The father-and-daughter crew of Armin and Ella Kremer (Baumschlager Rallye & Racing) kicked off its title campaign with a victory. The Germans stepped onto the category podium together with Ricardo Triviño/Diego Fuentes Vega (Electrolit Racing Team) from Mexico and Italians Mauro Miele/Luca Beltrame (DreamOne Racing).
From Croatian tarmac the FIA World Rally Championship turns to the gravel roads of the Porto area. Rally Portugal is the series‘ fifth round from 9th to 12th May.
Number of the rally: 3
Former FIA European Rally Champion Armin Kremer won the WRC Masters Cup classification at Rally Croatia the third year in a row. In 2022 he shared a team Baumschlager Rallye & Racing run Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo with Dakar Rally winning co-driver Timo Gottschalk. Already last season, daughter Ella read the pace notes. Now, the Germans drove to victory with a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
Croatia Rally, 18-21 April 2024, Result RC2
1 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (BUL/ANA), Citroën C3 Rally2, 2:49:44.9 hours
2 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, +38.2 seconds
3 Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen (FIN/FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +1:01.4 minutes
4 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (GBR/SWE), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +1:01.7 minutes
5 Pepe López/David Vázquez (ESP/ESP), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +2:41.0 minutes
6 Nicolas Ciamin/Yannick Roche (FRA/FRA), Hyundai i20 N Rally2, +3:00.7 minutes
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