Lappi’s victory in Switzerland secures ŠKODA the European championship
The European Rally Champion will be a ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 driver once again this year. The works drivers Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) extended their lead in the overall standings with their victory at the “Rallye International du Valais”, the penultimate race of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) season.
October 26, 2014
The European Rally Champion will be a ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 driver once again this year. The works drivers Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) extended their lead in the overall standings with their victory at the “Rallye International du Valais”, the penultimate race of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) season.
Only their brand colleagues Sepp Wiegand/Frank Christian (D/D) can prevent them from winning the ERC title for drivers and co-drivers now. The duo from the ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland team finished third at the rally in the Swiss canton of Valais.
“I’d like to congratulate both sets of drivers on this fantastic result,” said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek. “Once again our two ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000s ran like Swiss watches. Finishing with both cars on the podium – that’s the result of the professional performance of the whole team this weekend. We’re delighted that the ERC title will now be decided among two ŠKODA driver teams. After successes in the APRC and in three national championships in 2014 already, this result in the ERC is another golden chapter in the successful history of the ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000.”
“The whole weekend went perfectly for us,” said Lappi. “Janne and I are incredibly proud to have won in Switzerland for the second time. I would like to thank the whole team for their fantastic work. We’re in a great position in the championship now and travel to the final race in Corsica with a good feeling.” After success in Latvia and Northern Ireland this year it was the third victory of the year for the Finns.
“Rallye International du Valais” – final results
1. Lappi/Ferm (FIN/FIN), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 2h 46m 22.4s
2. Breen/Martin (IRL/GB), Peugeot 208 T16 R5 + 42.0s
3. Wiegand/Christian (D/D), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 + 3m 04.1s
4. Hirschi/Landais (CH/F), Peugeot 208 T16 R5 + 4m 10.2s
5. Burri/Ferrero (CH/F), Ford Fiesta R5 + 4m 17.8s
6. Consani/Vilmot (F/F), Peugeot 207 S2000 + 4m 24.8s
7. Althaus/Ioset (CH/CH), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 + 5m 56.9s
8. Perroud/Marchand (CH/CH), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 + 6m 22.5s
9. Gonon/Horgnies (CH/CH), Subaru Impreza R4 + 7m 08.9s
10. Radoux/Gregoire (CH/CH), Ford Fiesta R5 + 9m 53.5s