JWRC: Burkart heads newcomer Neuville

Aaron Burkart will start the day-closing Superspecial stage of Rally of Turkey with a 9.2-second lead of the Junior World Rally Championship section of the event.

The German driver heads category newcomer Thierry Neuville and Kevin Abbring after the opening eight stages of the JWRC season-opener. However, it looked as though it would be a different story following this morning’s third stage.

Abbring, driving a Renault Clio R3, had led the young driver class after the opening three stages but hit trouble when his rear brakes began to fail before the end of the third run. He had to soldier through the next stage with front brakes only after attempts to make repairs proved unsuccessful.

To make matters worse for the Dutch driver, his Clio’s tailgate opened close to the start of the fourth stage and caused the car to fill with dust, which allowed Burkart, in a Suzuki Swift Super 1600, to move in front.

“The stages have been rough in some places so it’s been tough on my poor car,” said Burkart. “I nearly had a spin on stage two on a right/left combination but apart from that it’s been okay and I have been trying to push when the line has been clear of rocks.”

Neuville has been fastest on three stages so far but reported a scare on the fourth stage when he momentarily left the road after the back of his Citroen C2 S1600 kicked-up on landing after a jump, which prompted his team to harden the set-up of his car at midday service.

“I am really surprised to be in this position close to Aaron because he has a lot of experience and we have not been attacking too much,” said the Belgian.

Abbring had planned to go on a big attack during the afternoon stages in an effort to cut the 17.5-second gap to Burkart but said he would also be cautious in order to avoid picking up a puncture.

Alessandro Broccoli, who is currently fourth, said his Clio’s suspension was erratic during the morning stages. He also bemoaned a brake problem, which had affected his Clio throughout the day.

Briton Harry Hunt is on course for a top five finish in his Ford Fiesta R2 despite a few close shaves. He said he came close to striking Peter Horsey’s stricken Mitsubishi Lancer, which had crashed out on the second stage of the event. He also survived an off-road moment on stage four and a heavy landing on stage eight, which left his car with front-end damage.

Todor Slavov blamed car set-up problems and a broken clutch for restricting him to fifth at midday service. Hopes of a fight-back in the afternoon ended when he his holed his Clio’s sump and retired with a loss of oil pressure.

Estonian Karl Kruuda, who at 17 is the J-WRC’s youngest-ever competitor, was an early casualty when he broke his Suzuki Swift’s front-right suspension after going off the road. His car is currently being repaired at the service park in Pendik and he is due to restart under SupeRally regulations on Saturday morning.