Prime Yalta Rally: news in brief (2)

Škoda Sweden´s Sandell to fight on in Yalta

Patrik Sandell insists he won’t give up the fight on the final day of the Prime Yalta Rally, round four of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Sandell, who is driving a Škoda Sweden-supported Fabia Super 2000, completed the opening two stages in third overall only for a spate of punctures to drop him out of the reckoning on Friday.

“We will keep going and try to set some good times,” said Sandell. “When it’s flat or downhill it’s okay. When it’s uphill I am losing but on some stages [today] we will be able to set some good times.”

Kruuda: Yalta a "learning" experience

Karl Kruuda says he is treating his Prime Yalta Rally debut as a “learning” experience after completing day two of the event in eighth overall.

The 18-year-old from Estonia had never tackled a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in a four-wheel-drive car before the Ukrainian event got underway on Thursday.

Despite a few delays on day two, Kruuda has impressed at the wheel of his ME3 Rally Team Škoda Fabia Super 2000.

“The drivers in front are very fast and it’s hard to catch them but I’m trying to do my best and find the seconds in the kilometres that I’m losing,” said Kruuda. “Still, on the last stage on Friday, I was pushing a little bit more but I don’t know if I can take any more seconds because I think they are going over the limit. I’m taking this as a learning rally.”

Neuville remains positive in Ukraine

Thierry Neuville has accepted the blame for the high-speed spin that robbed him of a shot at victory on the Prime Yalta Rally on Friday but is remaining positive ahead of the final six stages on Saturday.

Neuville, 22, began the asphalt event five points adrift of Intercontinental Rally Challenge leader Freddy Loix and was leading when he went off the road on Friday’s third stage, losing more than two minutes in the process. A puncture in the afternoon only added to his frustration.

“The start was good but after we made a spin, which was my own fault,” said Neuville, who starts day three in sixth position. “Then we had a puncture and have lost more than five minutes in total. We will continue tomorrow to try and set some good stage times.”

Marc van Dalen, whose Kronos Racing operation prepares Neuville’s Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207 Super 2000, added: “Thierry confirmed the speed he showed in Corsica. He was fastest while keeping a margin of safety. Sixth is not what we hoped for but the rally is not over yet. We have another long day today and the results could still change.”

Mikkelsen convinced of pace after stage win

Andreas Mikkelsen says his stage victory on day two of the Prime Yalta Rally yesterday proves he has the speed to run at the front in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Mikkelsen was quickest on the rally’s fifth stage having already slipped out of contention when he suffered a puncture on the previous run. He holds fourth overall with six stages remaining.

“Friday showed we definitely have the speed to be up at the very top, but we’ve also had a little bit of bad luck,” said the 21-year-old Škoda Motorsport driver. “The opening stage today was okay and then we had a puncture in the next, and I really have no idea how I got it. The next stage we were quickest, which was good, even though we lost the brakes towards the end.”

He continued: “We had brake problems in the last two stages. It was pretty scary, because sometimes the brake pedal was on the floor and we weren’t slowing down at all. On the last stage we had a really big spin. We almost spun at the same place in the morning, but we did it properly the second time through the stage! We know now that it was a little mistake with a pacenote.”