At the start of the weekend Scott Pedder said he’d be ecstatic to finish in the top five of the competitive WRC2 category at Rally Finland, and at the end of the second full day of competition and with just two stages remaining tomorrow he is well on course to achieve that incredible result.
Having climbed into sixth after yesterday’s demanding stages Pedder and co-driver Dale Moscatt knew that today’s pace would need to be more considered and less flat out. “The nature of the roads today was a little rougher, in amongst the trees, so we knew it would be riskier to continue the same pace we had yesterday,” explained Scott.
“So we reviewed the pace notes overnight, added a few extra ‘cautions’ on areas we felt might be a bit tricky, and drove to a plan today,” he continued, stating that on most sections he was still driving at 99% but through the rough sections he was backing off to just an 80% pace.
“There were sections today that actually felt a lot like the roads we use in Canberra, a little rough, a bit rocky in places. Still very fast, but not the smooth sweeping roads we had yesterday.”
“We continued to carry just the one spare today, so we knew we couldn’t afford to have more than one puncture. In the end though the day went exceptionally well, we had no issues and no moments to speak of, it was in a way a very cruisey day!” he laughed.
Despite carrying a more relaxed style to the day Pedder still maintained top ten WRC2 times across all eight of the days stages, including a top five time on Special Stage 16, the 21.14km Jukojärvi.
But Pedder said the absolute highlight of the day were the two passes over the 15.59km Horkka stage. “I’d say that is probably the best stage of my life,” enthused Scott. “It’s amazing, absolutely beautiful. You go from pine forest to sections beside lakes.”
With the bulk of the rally’s competitive distance now behind him Pedder and Moscatt have the final Leg’s two Special Stages to contend with, a back-to-back pass over the Myhinpää, totaling just over 28 kilometres.
“It is a short day but the stage we use is very much like Ouninpohja from yesterday, very fast, with the big jumps and crests. So there is still plenty that could catch us out if we don’t keep that concentration level up and stay committed, that’s the plan,” Pedder added.
WRC2 Rally Finland Results After Leg Two
1. Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (Skoda Fabia R5) 2h26m52.3s
2. Pontus Tidemand / Emil Axelsson (Skoda Fabia R5) +1m23.3s
3. Stephane Lefebvre / Stephane Prevot (Citroen DS3 RRC) +3m03.3s
4. Yurii Protasov / Pavlo Cherepin (Ford Fiesta RRC) +4m31.3s
5. Scott Pedder / Dale Moscatt (Ford Fiesta R5) +6m12.9s
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