Emma Gilmour continued to blast the stages of the tenth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, twice setting fastest stage times in the Fiesta SportingTrophy International on the second leg of the specialised Finnish event.
New Zealander Gilmour is competing in this event for the first time supported by Castrol and Dream Drive Promotions and she continued to show the impressive pace she had displayed on Friday where she set her first fastest FSTi stage time.
On Saturday she went one better, going quickest on the SS13, Urrua, by a mere half a second and then the next stage, Ouninpohja Länsi 2 by 2.7 seconds from her nearest rival in an identical Fiesta ST.
“It has been good and I’ve been catching the car in front on the stages,” said the 26 year-old Kiwi who is co-driven for this event by Claire Mole. “On of the last two stages we had to pass him and it is costing us some time. It’s strange that you worry about the crests on the stages and forget about the speed, then all of a sudden you see how fast you are travelling.”
Neste Oil Rally Finland is an event said to favour the home nation, and the results show that a Finn has won the home event far more numerously than any other nation. Despite this, Gilmour beat her two Finnish rivals in the FSTi on three of the day’s eight stages.
“It’s good to see that on the most famous stage in the world, Ouininpohja I can set a fastest time,” she said. “I have beaten the Finns on every stage on that loop.”
Gilmour was set to end the leg in fifth position of the FSTi competitors, but was struck by an engine problem late in the day.
“The start of the last stage was very rough,” said Gilmour. “I don’t know what caused it but the engine started to lose power. There were no warning lights but then it just stopped. The sump has been holed and we lost all of the oil. The wee car won’t be coming out in the morning.”
The third and final leg of Neste Oil Rally Finland takes place on Sunday August 20th with 60 km of competitive distance over four stages.
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