There were no WRC points at stake on the WRC Fafe Rally Sprint, but that was no reason for the drivers to slow down their pace this Saturday at the third edition of the Automóvel Club de Portugal event. The World Champion Sébastien Ogier left quite clear what he was here for and won on the mythical Fafe/Lameirinha stage.
Delighted with the Fafe ambiance, the VW driver opted for the show on his first passage, offering the tens of thousands at Confurco a 360. Even so, he managed the third best time just 1.2s from Dani Sordo (Hyundai), last year’s winner.
Meanwhile, Kris Meeke (Citroën) flew at the Pedra Sentada jump to finish second, a mere 0.1s from the Spaniard. The stage was set for a thrilling WRC Fafe Rally Sprint, with the fight for the win going down to the wire.
On the second passage, Ogier took the lead, 0.5s faster than Sordo, who was still searching for the second victory in Fafe. Right behind, Ott Tanak (Ford) entered the fight and was the last one, under a second from the top.
At an ever increasing pace, the drivers went on for the third and decisive passage over the Fafe/Lameirinha last 6 km, with the fight for the top spot looking as if they were all searching for 25 WRC points.
Tanak was the first of the top three to start and left it quite clear that he wouldn’t make it easy for his rivals, shaving 2.8s to the previous best overall time. Sordo was next and gave it all to become the first with two victories in Fafe, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Meanwhile, Ogier was already racing the clock. At an astonishing pace, the Frenchman ended up first, just half a second faster than Tanak, thus becoming the third different winner of the WRC Fafe Rally Sprint.
There were no WRC points at stake on the WRC Fafe Rally Sprint, but that was no reason for the drivers to slow down their pace this Saturday at the third edition of the Automóvel Club de Portugal event. The World Champion Sébastien Ogier left quite clear what he was here for and won on the mythical Fafe/Lameirinha stage, crowded with some 120,000 fans.
Delighted with the Fafe ambiance, the VW driver opted for the show on his first passage, offering the tens of thousands at Confurco a 360. Even so, he managed the third best time just 1.2s from Dani Sordo (Hyundai), last year’s winner.
Meanwhile, Kris Meeke (Citroën) flew at the Pedra Sentada jump to finish second, a mere 0.1s from the Spaniard. The stage was set for a thrilling WRC Fafe Rally Sprint, with the fight for the win going down to the wire.
On the second passage, Ogier took the lead, 0.5s faster than Sordo, who was still searching for the second victory in Fafe. Right behind, Ott Tanak (Ford) entered the fight and was the last one, under a second from the top.
At an ever increasing pace, the drivers went on for the third and decisive passage over the Fafe/Lameirinha last 6 km, with the fight for the top spot looking as if they were all searching for 25 WRC points.
Tanak was the first of the top three to start and left it quite clear that he wouldn’t make it easy for his rivals, shaving 2.8s to the previous best overall time. Sordo was next and gave it all to become the first with two victories in Fafe, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Meanwhile, Ogier was already racing the clock. At an astonishing pace, the Frenchman ended up first, just half a second faster than Tanak, thus becoming the third different winner of the WRC Fafe Rally Sprint.