[Portugal J-WRC] Kosciuszko Draws Level With Prokop In J-WRC Battle

Kosciuszko wins in Portugal to draw level on points with Prokop in J-WRC battle Having opened a 41sec FIA Junior World Rally Championship lead at the end of Day 1 of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, Michal Kosciuszko (POL, Suzuki) suddenly found himself 3mins 13.2secs ahead of the opposition after his two main rivals both hit problems on SS9. With half of the rally still remaining, the 23-year old driver showed great maturity as he maintained concentration to increase his lead to 4min 23.1secs by the end of Day 2 and eventually win in the Algarve by 6mins 06.5secs.

Co-driven by Maciek Szczepaniak, it was Kosciuszko’s second J-WRC win of his career (his first coming in Sardinia in last year) and it puts him level on points with Martin Prokop (CZ, Citroën C2) – although Prokop still heads the standings having been the faster of the two when the pair first competed head-to-head this year, on the Cyprus Rally.

Despite suffering from a fever, Kosciuszko edged away from the J-WRC opposition as the opening day’s stages took place in the Serra do Caldeirão hills, north-west of Faro. Having established a 23.2 second lead over Alessandro Bettega (I, Renault) after SS4, Kosciuszko had a scare when his Swift’s engine wouldn’t start entering Service and he had to push his car through the time control and onto his waiting mechanics. That didn’t cost him any time, unlike in SS6 when the intercom failed. Emergency electrical repairs were made, but in the following stage his co-driver couldn’t hear himself read his own notes, making following them very difficult. From then on, Kosciuszko enjoyed a trouble-free event.

Kosciuszko didn’t lead from start to finish, as Bettega set the fastest time on the opening stage at the Algarve Stadium.

His early lead ended when he overshot the first corner of SS2, and his challenge for J-WRC honours effectively came to an end when he had to stop on SS5 to extinguish a fire that had started at the rear of his Renault, near the exhaust. Bettega lost over six minutes in the stage, but was unable to continue upon reaching the end of the test having inhaled so much exhaust fumes. He had recovered to continue under Superally the following day, however, and having just set the fastest time on SS9, he lost a further 90secs when they went off the road on SS10. Bettega got back on the road with the help of spectators, set fastest time on SS11 and ran out of fuel 7kms into SS12 (after a suspected filling problem had gone unnoticed at the previous refuelling). He ended the event in style, setting fastest time on three of the final day’s five
stages, albeit down in 5th.

On his first gravel rally in a Suzuki Swift, Yoann Bonato (F) became Kosciuszko’s nearest rival with fastest time on SS3, 4 and 5. He was second, just 41secs behind, starting Day 2, but retired after going off the road on SS9.

Kevin Abbring (NL, Renault), at just 20-years old the youngest J-WRC competitor, finished an excellent runner-up to score his best J-WRC result. The extra power from his Clio R3’s engine provoked excessive wheel-spin, and his KNAF Talent First Team Holland squad altered the pitch of the car to try and get more weight over the front wheels. Avoiding punctures became something of a priority, which he almost achieved, save for a rear flat 5kms into SS9, which cost him 2mins. Abbring completed a good run by posting the fastest J-WRC time on the final stage of the event, the re-run of the stage at the Algarve Stadium.

With first and second places secure, the big J-WRC battle on Day 3 was the third place between Luca Griotti (I, Renault) and Hans Weijs Jr (NL, Citroën).

Griotti ended Day 2 in third place, 35.4secs ahead, despite an eventful opening day which saw the former Formula Ford single-seater racer spin and stall on SS2 and then run wide exiting a right hand corner in SS4; with only a tree preventing him from rolling down the hillside. He was only 32.5secs off Kosciuszko’s lead when he picked up a puncture 5kms into the 22.04km SS7 and was forced to stop and change the wheel, losing two and a half minutes.

Unfortunately, the battle ended on the opening stage of Day 3, when Griotti hit a watersplash in SS14 too fast and covered the Clio’s windscreen with mud. He decided not to stop and clean the screen, but later rolled in the same stage.

The following car stopped and the crew helped Griotti get his Renault back on its wheels, but 5mins had been lost – and with it any chance of finishing third.

Third place therefore went to Weijs, which was just reward after he made a tremendous comeback after he’d lost his brakes on SS2 and collected a rear puncture on SS3. After the first four stages, he was 1min 36.3secs off the J-WRC lead and down in sixth position. More brake problems followed in the form of a broken rear calliper on SS8, which yet again forced him to reduce his pace on the following stages. Weijs suffered from a lack of traction throughout the event, but with commendable determination he kept pushing to score his first J-WRC podium finish.

Engine problems on Day 1 ruined Simone Bertolotti’s (I, Suzuki) Rally de Portugal. A misfire saw the engine cut out on SS2, 3 and 4, and whilst he’d thought his problems had been cured in Service after a good run through SS5, the engine began to lose oil pressure on SS6 and Bertolotti stopped to try and prevent total failure. He began Day 2 in Superally, but withdrew after engine problems returned. He did complete Day 3 under Superally, but finished sixth, 42mins behind Kosciuszko.

1st – Michal Kosciuszko, Suzuki Swift S1600:
“This is a great result. We did a perfect job, had no problems and everything worked well. We pulled out a big gap on the first day and then somehow managed to get an even bigger gap on the next two days and now we are equal with Martin Prokop on points. We need to make the most of Argentina when Martin is not driving, although I think Bettega will be fast there too. I think the real battle will be in Sardinia where Martin and I will meet again.”

2nd – Kevin Abbring, Renault Clio R3:
“It has been a difficult rally, and I didn’t expect to be in second position at the finish. Rally Ireland was good for me on asphalt and this has been a good result for me on gravel. I’m now really looking forward to my next gravel event in Sardinia.”

3rd – Hans Weijs Jr, Citroën C2 S16000:
“The rally was very hard on the car, with a lot of big stones on the stages. We had a lot of problems with the brakes, punctures and no traction, so I am really happy to finish on the podium – my first in the J-WRC. We plan to test on gravel before our next event in Sardinia, and we will go there aiming to win.”