Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy

2016 DDFT: Max Vatanen succeeds at his home rally

2 Mins read

Finland’s Max Vatanen won an incident-packed 2016 Rally Finland to bring his Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy challenge on track.

The 25-year-old kept his cool on the fast Finnish roads to record his first Trophy win of the season. This means Vatanen has leapfrogged Northern Ireland’s Jon Armstrong into second place in the standings after his early exit from the rally, as well as winning two WRC2 prize drives for next year.

Portugal’s Bernardo Sousa was second, while Poland’s Jakub Brzezinski celebrated their best result in the Trophy in third place. It was also a similar story for Norway’s Oscar Solberg who achieved his best-ever result in the Trophy so far in fourth place.

Kenya’s Karan Patel continued his learning curve in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy as the Kenyan finished fifth. While Britain’s Osian Pryce was in a nip-and-tuck battle with Vatanen for the majority of the rally until he rolled his Ford Fiesta R2 on Saturday, losing time to the Finn.

The Welshman with co-driver Dale Furniss finished sixth, but still leads the standings by just five points ahead of Max Vatanen. Gus Greensmith and Nicolas Ciamin failed to finish Rally Finland.

Vatanen said after winning his home rally I am really happy to win here in Finland. We had the pace from the start and were driving with our heads and it paid off. The car and tyres both worked really well. Maxim also did a really good job so it was a great combination that brought this result. It’s fantastic to have won the prize drives for next year and it gives me motivation to push for the other rounds so I’m really pleased.

Credit: @World Photography

Credit: @World Photography

Sousa spoke about regaining his confidence after finishing second in Finland It was a nice rally, we started a little bit slow but stage by stage we improved and began setting some fastest times, and by the end it was a case of getting the car home. It was a good result, the rhythm is back and so is the confidence, so I’m looking forward to Rally Germany. Tarmac is my favourite kind of surface and I think I’ll be able to drive much better.

Brzezinski added It’s amazing for us to get to the finish in the first place, and to finish third, we didn’t expect that at all. I must say it’s been amazing and we’re still a little bit shocked that we managed to get to the finish and with a proper result. We look forward to the next challenge in Germany for sure.

295 posts

About author
Third Year Birmingham City University Journalism student. I've been dedicating most of my life in motorsport to Formula One. I also have a keen passion for rallying and motorcycle racing.
Articles
Related posts
Drive DMACK Fiesta TrophyFIA World Rally Championship

Evans leads DMACK 2017 WRC Campaign in 2017 spec Fiesta

2 Mins read
Elfyn Evans will lead British tyre manufacturer DMACK’s 2017 World Rally Championship assault in a 2017 Ford Fiesta WRC
Drive DMACK Fiesta TrophyFIA World Rally Championship

Osian Pryce: “Luckily it all came along in the end”

2 Mins read
The Checkered Flag caught up with 2016 Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy-winner Osian Pryce as he makes the switch from DDFT to WRC2 in 2017.
Drive DMACK Fiesta TrophyWRC2

Osian Pryce: “There’s no place like home.”

1 Mins read
Osian Pryce returns home at the 2016 Wales Rally GB after winning the 2016 Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy last time out in Spain at Rally Catalunya.