Teemu Suninen asserts his speed at Rally Portugal !
Already impressive in his first two appearances this season for Team ORECA, with fifth and second place finishes in the RC2 class at Monte Carlo and Sweden, Teemu Suninen once again showed had an excellent performance during Rally Portugal. Alongside Mikko Markkula, the young Finnish driver had the fastest stage time 5 times in a WRC-2 class rich in quality and quantity in terms of competitors. Driving the No. 33 Skoda Fabia R5, he was unable to solidify this speed into a result because, as if often the case here, the event was brutal on mechanical parts.
Hugues de Chaunac : “Teemu is impressive!”
“Teemu is very quick and he showed it again with Mikko during this Rally Portugal” explains Hugues de Chaunac, President of Groupe ORECA. “The WRC-2 class is incredibly dense and competitive, but he still had the fastest stage time on several occasions, and against drivers who have much more experience in this event or this type of car. It’s amazing how far he has come since last year where he was running here in a WRC-3 entry. His performance today…Teemu is impressive !
“The driving pair and the team are getting along better and better with each run and there’s a real connection. Unfortunately, there were two small issues, a stone damaging a suspension piece on Friday and then a mechanical issue that really hurt us all. That’s Portugal, a very tough rally and the WRC-2 class fell victim to this in a general way. It’s too bad because all the elements were in place to fight for the win. That will be the goal of the next rally. We can come away from this rally with our heads held high.”
“We are happy with our pace with five fastest times” adds Teemu Suninen. “We are learning the car more and more. The feelings were good but we still have a window for improvement which will be interesting for the coming rallies. Portugal is always tough and unfortunately we had this mechanical failure. We missed out on big points but we have gained good experience. The team also did a great job so we are looking forward to Sardegna.”
Five fastest stage times and several Top 3 !
Teemu Suninen began Rally Portugal on Thursday night with the third fastest time on the Lousada rallycross circuit. The following day, he is forced to miss the start of SS2 after a stone damaged a piece of suspension. The young Finnish driver returned to the sandy roads on Saturday pushing for quick times. It was enough for a top three in class, with the fastest time in SS10 and a second and third in the following two stages. He sttarted the second loop with another top time in WRC-2, before taking second in SS14 despite dense fog halfway through the stage. While running ahead of the best sector times,on the last stage of the day, Teemu is forced to stop only a few kilometers from the finish after a mechanical issue ended his day. On Sunday, Teemu and Mikko returned to attack mode taking the top time in SS16 before taking on the famous Fafe stage, which he discovered for the first time in his career, signing a time good enough for the fourth place in class. Again the quickest in the penultimate stage, he finished with one more fastest time – the third of four in the Sunday final leg – in iconic Fafe stage.
Team ORECA continues its WRC-2 program in the World Rally Championship with Sardinia, June 9-12. Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula will again share a Skoda Fabia R5 in this event, in which they will be nominated to score points in the overall classification.