Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino remain in third place overnight in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy after eight tarmac stages on day two of Rally Spain, round 12 of the World Rally Championship.
For Reeves, Saturday morning’s stages were about learning the tarmac set up of the Fiesta and also learning the limits of the DMACK tyres. Reeves noted after the first loop of stages, “We have plenty of tyres left, they lasted very well on this surface”.
Reeves was happy with the pair’s improvements over the first four stages, particularly the fourth stage, as they were able to make up some of the time that they had lost earlier.
“On the last stage there was lots of cutting (corners) and lots of loose gravel on the road making for some surprising corners as you came at them with speed,” he said.
After the morning’s four stages crews then went into a midday service. Reeves’ crew replaced the rear beam in his Fiesta as the car wasn’t tracking 100%. The first stage after service was the longest of the day and Reeves tried a different suspension set up to try achieve a sharper turn in. This had the opposite affect so it was a matter of getting through the stage before the crew was able to alter the set up again.
After SS16, Reeves continued in third position overall. “We drove consistently but the brakes went soft halfway through SS16 and the feeling wasn't there," Reeves said.
Crews then had a small re-group before SS17 in Salou. This is a street stage, which is very technical and has some very slippery and shiny surfaces. It consists of many hairpins and corners that require the handbrake, but as Reeves said, “It’s lots of fun.” On this stage Reeves set equal second fastest time, only +1.0 behind stage winner, Max Vatanen.
At the end of day service, crews set about checking over the cars. Reeves said he was “Happy with how the day went. We made some improvements and then went backwards but then we ended up with a good setup that we can take into tomorrow.
“We are comfortably in third now but the gap to second has drifted away.”
Sunday marks the final day of Rally Spain with six stages on tarmac. If Reeves finishes in his current position he has the chance to qualify for the ‘Vatanen Touch’, a Fiesta shootout where the winner has the opportunity to drive a Fiesta R5 at a World Rally Championship event in 2016.
Results for Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy after SS17
1. Aasen/Engan, 3:01:16.2
2. Cave/Parry, +27.8
3. Reeves/Gelsomino, +1:02.8
4. van Deijne/Verschuuren, +11:29.2
5. Vatanen/Renucci, +6:52.0
Photo: @world
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