Torn takes a triple in ERC3 as brilliant Bernardi has last-minute heartbreak
ByERC
Published 21/07/2019 at 18:54 GMT
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Image credit: ERC
Ken Torn extended his winning streak in the FIA ERC3 Junior Championship to three in a row on Rally di Roma Capitale, but Florian Bernardi's show-stealing run of stage wins almost put him in the hunt for victory.
A tricky opening stage of the rally had set back a number of quick drivers: Torn (Estonian Autosport Junior Team) had lost around 40 seconds and Bernardi two minutes, giving Sindre Furuseth (Saintéloc Junior Team) an early lead.
But both Pirelli-shod drivers were straight back on the pace and after Torn had climbed to second place ahead of Saturday’s final stage, Furuseth crashed out, handing him the lead.
There was pressure from Erik Cais (ACCR Czech Rally Team) behind on Sunday though, Torn’s lead being cut stage after stage and nearly disappearing altogether when he clobbered a wall and broke his left-rear wheel.
Luckily for the Estonian, it was in the final section of the last stage before midday service, costing him only a few seconds and giving his team a chance to fix up his Ford Fiesta R2 before it had to go back into action for the next stage.
Despite the scare Torn kept his head down and protected his lead, successfully defending his advantage and wrapping up a third ERC3 win over Cais.
From attacking Torn in the morning, Cais suddenly had to look behind him as Bernardi relentlessly ate into his time gap.
Bernardi won all eight full-length stages and stole second place away from Cais heading to the Ostia superspecial, and by now was only 17.1s behind Torn, meaning he’d gained more than a minute on the Estonian driver since Saturday morning.
But there was a heartbreaking late twist: a hard landing over a jump on the first pass of the superspecial caused a puncture that cost Bernardi nearly two minutes, demoting him outside the podium positions.
Rallye Team Spain’s Efrén Llarena was the main beneficiary, retaking a podium place he had held for much of the rally before Bernardi’s stunning comeback drive.
Llarena had spent much of Sunday locked in a podium battle with Roman Schwedt (Team ROMO), the pair at one point separated by only 0.2s. But Schwedt’s dream of a first ERC3 podium was dashed on SS13, his car suffering an engine problem that forced him to retire.
Bernardi picked up fourth position despite his last minute delay in Ostia, ahead of a very fortunate Jan Talaš (ACCR Czech Rally Team).
Fifth place looked like a certainty for Talaš on Sunday afternoon but there was a spanner in the works come the Ostia superspecial, his car breaking down and refusing to start between his first and second runs.
His mechanical dramas cost him several minutes but, such was his gap to those behind, he secured fifth place by an unexpectedly narrow margin of Orhan Avcioğlu (Toksport WRT).
Avcioğlu’s sixth place finish on his return to the ERC could have been one place better, had he not picked up 90s of lateness penalties caused from fixing a problem with his car before stage three on Saturday.
Grégoire Munster (ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team) was running in a strong second position before breaking his steering in a slow speed impact, but returned from retirement on Sunday to pick up seventh in ERC3.
Cristiana Oprea picked up eighth in ERC3 on what was not only her ERC debut, but also her first ever rally in an R2-specification car. While Rallye Team Spain’s Emma Falcón took victory in the ERC Ladies’ Trophy on the road, Oprea scored maximum points, finishing higher in her car class than Falcón.
Completing the ERC Ladies’ Trophy podium was Catie Munnings, who had retired on the road section after stage one on Saturday and returned to finish P9. Fellow returnee Pedro Antunes (FPAK Team Portugal ERC) completed the top 10.
Gregor Jeets (Estonian Autosport Junior Team) joined Schwedt on the sidelines after retiring on Sunday’s opening stage with broken suspension, while James Williams and Elias Lundberg (ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team) did not retstart due to accident damage and health reasons respectively.
But both Pirelli-shod drivers were straight back on the pace and after Torn had climbed to second place ahead of Saturday’s final stage, Furuseth crashed out, handing him the lead.
There was pressure from Erik Cais (ACCR Czech Rally Team) behind on Sunday though, Torn’s lead being cut stage after stage and nearly disappearing altogether when he clobbered a wall and broke his left-rear wheel.
Luckily for the Estonian, it was in the final section of the last stage before midday service, costing him only a few seconds and giving his team a chance to fix up his Ford Fiesta R2 before it had to go back into action for the next stage.
Despite the scare Torn kept his head down and protected his lead, successfully defending his advantage and wrapping up a third ERC3 win over Cais.
From attacking Torn in the morning, Cais suddenly had to look behind him as Bernardi relentlessly ate into his time gap.
Bernardi won all eight full-length stages and stole second place away from Cais heading to the Ostia superspecial, and by now was only 17.1s behind Torn, meaning he’d gained more than a minute on the Estonian driver since Saturday morning.
But there was a heartbreaking late twist: a hard landing over a jump on the first pass of the superspecial caused a puncture that cost Bernardi nearly two minutes, demoting him outside the podium positions.
Rallye Team Spain’s Efrén Llarena was the main beneficiary, retaking a podium place he had held for much of the rally before Bernardi’s stunning comeback drive.
Llarena had spent much of Sunday locked in a podium battle with Roman Schwedt (Team ROMO), the pair at one point separated by only 0.2s. But Schwedt’s dream of a first ERC3 podium was dashed on SS13, his car suffering an engine problem that forced him to retire.
Bernardi picked up fourth position despite his last minute delay in Ostia, ahead of a very fortunate Jan Talaš (ACCR Czech Rally Team).
Fifth place looked like a certainty for Talaš on Sunday afternoon but there was a spanner in the works come the Ostia superspecial, his car breaking down and refusing to start between his first and second runs.
His mechanical dramas cost him several minutes but, such was his gap to those behind, he secured fifth place by an unexpectedly narrow margin of Orhan Avcioğlu (Toksport WRT).
Avcioğlu’s sixth place finish on his return to the ERC could have been one place better, had he not picked up 90s of lateness penalties caused from fixing a problem with his car before stage three on Saturday.
Grégoire Munster (ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team) was running in a strong second position before breaking his steering in a slow speed impact, but returned from retirement on Sunday to pick up seventh in ERC3.
Cristiana Oprea picked up eighth in ERC3 on what was not only her ERC debut, but also her first ever rally in an R2-specification car. While Rallye Team Spain’s Emma Falcón took victory in the ERC Ladies’ Trophy on the road, Oprea scored maximum points, finishing higher in her car class than Falcón.
Completing the ERC Ladies’ Trophy podium was Catie Munnings, who had retired on the road section after stage one on Saturday and returned to finish P9. Fellow returnee Pedro Antunes (FPAK Team Portugal ERC) completed the top 10.
Gregor Jeets (Estonian Autosport Junior Team) joined Schwedt on the sidelines after retiring on Sunday’s opening stage with broken suspension, while James Williams and Elias Lundberg (ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team) did not retstart due to accident damage and health reasons respectively.
The post Torn takes a triple in ERC3 as brilliant Bernardi has last-minute heartbreak appeared first on FIA ERC | European Rally Championship.
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