Araujo extends P-WRC lead with asphalt triumph

Armindo Araujo extended his lead of the Production Car World Rally Championship to 18 points following his second maximum score of the season on Rallye Deutschland.

Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX for the Ralliart Italy squad, Araujo was never headed throughout the 19-stage rally, which finished in Trier this afternoon.

After claiming victory alongside co-driver Miguel Ramalho, Araujo said: “This is a very important victory for me for the championship. We tested a lot before this event and we were able to find a good set-up. I really loved this rally and I’m very happy to have won here. Hayden put me under some pressure so I am pleased to have won.”

Pirelli Star Driver Hayden Paddon gave chase throughout the event and proved that he will be a force to be reckoned with on asphalt as well as gravel by securing second place in his Lancer.

“This is a real surprise,” said the New Zealander afterwards. "It’s my first event on Tarmac and we didn’t quite know where we were going to stand. Armindo did a fantastic job and I am happy just to be able to keep to his pace and put some pressure on him. I will be in Japan with my own team and I’m going to try to win there.”

Hampered by an overheating problem on his Subaru Impreza, Patrik Flodin was a distant 2m45.1s behind in third. Nevertheless the Swede maintains second in the championship fight.

Wildcard entrant Hermann Gassner Jr took fourth in his Lancer Evolution IX after reporting a minor handbrake problem on Sunday morning. “I came here looking to be in the top five,” said the 21-year-old German. “Of course a podium would have been the best result but that was not possible. But I am really happy to be at the finish in fourth place on my home rally. Apart from a small problem with the handbrake this morning I’ve not had any real problems.”

Out of contention for overall honours after retiring on day one with a broken driveshaft, Toshi Arai gained some consolation by setting the fastest time on two of Sunday’s five stages at the wheel of his Impreza. Co-driven by Briton Daniel Barritt, the Japanese double P-WRC champion was classified sixth, one place behind Pirelli Star Driver Ott Tanak.

Tanak won the P-WRC division in Finland but a suspension failure on Friday, caused when he struck a kerb, made for a frustrating Tarmac debut for the promising Estonian driver.

Pirelli Star Drivers Nick Georgiou and Peter Horsey restarted on Sunday following their respective retirements on day two. Georgiou took seventh with Horsey taking eighth on his first asphalt rally. Their Pirelli Star Driver team-mate Alex Raschi should have been fifth but his Lancer suffered a mechanical failure in the closing stages.

Nuno Barroso Pereira was the last of nine finishes in his Tommi Makinen Racing-built Impreza. The Portuguese driver was saddled by a 10-minute penalty handed out by the rally stewards on Friday for a servicing infringement.