Rally Hungary – The Tempestini surprise

After a first stage already marked by several twists and turns, the Sunday day once again promised to be lively. 6 ES were on the program for a total of 88,18 km timed and the show was there.

On sandy ground which tended to deepen and on which there were also many stones, leader Mikko Heikkilä initially consolidated his position. Winner of two opening stages, the Finn managed to increase his lead to 10”1 over Simone Tempestini. The 32-year-old driver could look ahead with peace of mind, but the breakage of a rim in SS10 put an end to his demonstration. However, it was not the Romanian who benefited. In this same special, he was overtaken by a rediscovered Martin Sesks.

Uncomfortable at the start of the morning with his Yaris that he was discovering, the Latvian modified his settings before this SS10 and it paid off. While taking advantage of Heikkilä's setbacks, Sesks overtook Tempestini and Hayden Paddon to take the lead. With 3 more sections to negotiate, Sesks could head towards his 4^e success in ERC when he broke his suspension (SS12) in the penultimate stage.

Author of a very regular performance with also astonishing times (scratch SS3 and 12), Simone Tempestini was the excellent surprise of this opening round. Crowned Romanian champion on several occasions, the 26-year-old driver who also has a 2016 JWRC title was until now in the soft underbelly of the rankings. Operating the Fabia RS Rally2 for only the second time, he made perfect use of it. Knowing how to be reliable, he was able to take advantage of the racing facts to achieve his first success at this level.

This success could have gone to Hayden Paddon, but for that the Kiwi would have had to display better speed. In fact, he never succeeded in retaking Tempestini. Aware of not having the most efficient car for this type of very fast special, the reigning champion relied on his experience to always stay in the leading pack. His strategy almost paid off, but a puncture in the final SS dropped him to 4^e in front of a surprising Miklos Csomos.

One of the performances rally is to the credit of Mathieu Franceschi. Although he undoubtedly had the speed to play for victory, a puncture and a rollover delayed him on Saturday. Back on the attack today, he managed to climb up to 4^e place, then the abandonment of Sesks and the puncture of Paddon allowed him to finish 2^e.

In ERC Junior, Max McRae got his season off to a good start. Showing himself to be consistent if not the fastest, the son of Alister won after the punctures of Mille Johansson, Jaspar Vaher and Calle Carlberg. The next ERC meeting will take place in the Canaries from May 2-4.

Rally Hungary – Ranking