Gus Greensmith says that he’s “really proud” to be given the opportunity of an extra appearance in the M-Sport Ford Fiesta after stepping in for Elfyn Evans on this weekend’s Rally Finland.
Greensmith, who made his WRC debut on Rally Portugal earlier this season, had been set to give the new MK8 Fiesta R5 it’s WRC2 debut, but instead will drive the top-level Fiesta WRC after Evans’ is forced to miss out on medical grounds after a heavy landing on Rally Estonia.
Speaking ahead of the ninth round of the 2019 season, Greensmith said: “I want to wish Elfyn a full and speedy recovery. These aren’t the circumstances in which we wanted to be back behind the wheel of the World Rally Car, but it’s the cards we’ve been dealt and I’m really proud that M-Sport and Ford saw us as the best crew for the job.”
“We had a strong debut in Portugal, but there are still many aspects we need to improve and Finland will be an even bigger challenge. I tend to go quite well on the faster rallies, and if we can make a good step forward I’ll be happy.”
Greensmith went on to explain how the late opportunity came about: “I had six months to prepare for Portugal, but for Finland it was more like six hours! I got the call and was on my way to the test the very next day. It was total madness, but I felt really comfortable really quickly. The test team did a fantastic job and I think we’ve got a competitive package for the rally.”
“But I’ll still need to take the, ‘don’t run before you can walk,’ attitude into next week. I’ve proved my potential, but the reality is that there is a mountain to climb before I’ll be in a position to challenge for the podium. I know that, and I need to get as much experience as possible under my belt.”
Rally Portugal saw him set a string of competitive stage times, before being forced to retire on the Power Stage after breaking his suspension on the Fafe test.
