The fight for victory in Rally GB in Wales in WRC 2 category was decided only on the very last special stage on Sunday. Just on this 10 kilometer long Power Stage went the Finns Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula with their ŠKODA Fabia S2000 into the lead and take the win.
21-year-old Suninen and his experienced co-driver Markkula, who was a member of the ŠKODA Motorsport factory team from 2009 to 2012, fought for the podium in the WRC 2 category since the opening leg of the Wales Rally GB. Regardless of typical Welsh rainy and windy weather, the Finns act well on the muddy and slippery roads.
After the third stage they settled on second position of WRC provisional classification, they were in top 3 positions in the WRC 2 category on 11 of 19 SS, including two fastest time on Saturday. Going into the final stage they were still second, losing 21 seconds to category leader Eric Camilli.
But the final Power Stage re-shuffled the positions on the sharp end of the field once again. While Camilli had to tackle mechanical issues, the proven ŠKODA Fabia S2000 worked flawlessly and the performance of Suninen/Markkula was absolutely focused until the very last metres of the rally. They won by 19.2 seconds over the Frenchman.
“This is the best way to end the season,” said a delighted Teemu Suninen at the finish. “It was a new rally for me and there were so many new things to learn, but it all came good at the end.”
In the World Rally Championship competed Suninen for the first time on Rally Finland 2014. Last weekend’s rally in Wales was his just ninth participation in some of the WRC events. Thanks to the points gained for victory in Wales, the Finn moved into the top 10 of 2015 WRC 2 Drivers Championship final classification.
Wales Rally GB was the final round of 2015 WRC season. The opening round of the 2016 season will be once again the legendary Rallye Monte Carlo on 22th to 24th January 2016.
