Makes’ points for Van Merksteijn Jr

Fresh from his first drivers’ championship points on ADAC Rallye Deutschland last month, Peter van Merksteijn Jr experienced another WRC high when he scored four manufacturers’ championship points for his family team on Rally Australia.

Partnered by experienced co-driver Erwin Mombaerts, van Merksteijn Jr fought back from his disappointing double puncture that forced him to retire from eighth overall on day one, to claim 13th position at the finish in Coffs Harbour on Sunday afternoon.

The result puts Van Merksteijn Motorsport ahead of the Monster World Rally Team and into ninth in the overall classification with three rounds remaining, 10 points behind fellow Dutch squad, the FERM Power Tools World Rally Team.

“I had been looking forward to this rally from the start of the season and it is really great to drive here,” said the Dutchman. “The punctures on Friday were very disappointing as with it a finish well within the top ten went out of the window. On Saturday we set our minds to finishing the rally and score as many championship points in the manufacturers’ classification. It has been great fun to drive this rally and I have enjoyed the beautiful stages very much.”

Following his exit on Friday, van Merksteijn Jr restarted under SupeRally rules on day two and set a number of competitive stage times in his Citroen DS3 WRC, including a trio of top-eight times on Saturday afternoon, which he completed in 15th overall.

“Things didn’t go exactly how they should have on Saturday morning because I suffered from too much oversteer to have a good drive over the stages but during the service the mechanics rectified this problem,” said the 29-year-old. “On Saturday afternoon everything was perfect again. The stages were beautiful and fast and it is really great to drive here. I am happy with how things went.