as Citroen dominates the BRC once again
Osian Pryce nets CRT victory hat-trick, Korhonen seals title with third placeKorhonen: “It’s just an amazing feeling”
The final Citroen Racing Trophy UK round took place this weekend at the Rallye Sunseeker International and it was Finn, Jukka Korhonen, who secured the title on the gravel tracks with points-and-a-half on offer.
Korhonen and his co-driver Marko Salminen had the advantage from the outset, needing to finish third or higher to seal the championship, with Alastair Fisher and Tom Cave the only drivers who could have deprived the young Finn. A superbly judged third place from the Korhonen, who placed ahead of Fisher and behind Cave, was enough to capture the first prize of €8000, a free entry to WRC Rally GB and 20 Pirelli tyres for the event.
“The competition has been so close; it has been a very good year. Marko has done a fantastic job this year and I must thank the Autosport Technology team too; the car has been perfect,” commented Jukka at the finish.
Commenting further, the British Rally Championship Citroen Racing Trophy winner, Jukka Korhonen, “I really don't know what to say right now. It's been one of the longest days ever. It's just an amazing feeling.”
The rally itself was won by young Welshman, Osian Pryce, who put in a dominant performance to lead throughout the 10 special stages. With co-driver Dale Furniss, the pairing scored their third CRT UK win on the trot. “I seem to be getting the hang of this now. It’s the hardest rally of the year, but it is great to win another event,” commented Osian. Their Welsh rivals, Tom Cave and Ieuan Thomas, were just 14 seconds behind.
Initially Mark Donnelly had held second place, driving in the same manner which saw him claim victory in last year’s Sunseeker event, but soon the pace of Korhonen, Fisher and Cave would prove too much. Korhonen was able to maintain third position, despite some hard charges by Alastair Fisher who ended the event just two tenths of a second behind the new champion.
Once again, Jonny Greer and John MacCrone were closely matched; Greer moved ahead of MacCrone after stage three and secured sixth place, with just six seconds in hand over seventh placed MacCrone who encountered a problem with his brakes on the final stage. Callum Black brought his DS3 R3 into eighth and although he was not registered for the Trophy, his performance underlined the dominance of the DS3 in the British Championship this season.
Osian Pryce’s victory brought him into second in the CRT UK standings which gives him a free entry to Rally GB, € 5000 and 12 Pirelli tyres.
Round Six- Rallye Sunseeker International - Overall Results
1st Osian Pryce/ Dale Furniss DS3 R3 58m 48.8s2nd Tom Cave/ Ieuan Thomas DS3 R3 +14.4s3rd Jukka Korhonen/ Marko Salminen DS3 R3 +38.9s4th Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble DS3 R3 +39.1s5th Mark Donnelly/ Dai Roberts DS3 R3 +50.0s6th Jonny Greer/ Kirsty Riddick DS3 R3 +1m24.7s7th John MacCrone/ Phil Pugh DS3 R3 +1m30.9s8th Callum Black/James Morgan DS3 R3 +2m11.3s
Citroen Racing Trophy UK- Drivers Championship- Final positions
1st Jukka Korhonen 100 pts2nd Osian Pryce 983rd Tom Cave 924th Alastair Fisher 91.55th Jonny Greer 77.56th Mark Donnelly 777th John MacCrone 608th James Grint 559th Peter Taylor 2510th Brendan Cumiskey 2211th Desi Henry 12
