Veiby third at Rally Poland

Ole Christian Veiby aimed for victory in the JWRC category at Rally Poland and admits that he is a little bit disappointed about finishing third – although he takes important points for the championship standings.

July 04, 2016

Ole Christian Veiby aimed for victory in the JWRC category at Rally Poland and admits that he is a little bit disappointed about finishing third – although he takes important points for the championship standings.

The young rally talent from Norway started the second round of the Junior World Rally Championship in a great way and had an exciting duel with Italian Simone Tempestini.

“We had a very fun fight with Tempestini, maybe the most enjoyable battle I have ever had in a rally. We really pushed each other and I was driving on the limit on the fast roads. It was both fun and good experience wise to take that kind of chances” said Ole Christian Veiby.

After Friday’s stages, the Italian had a tiny grip of the leading position and had secured a 12 seconds’ gap to Ole in second place. The two of them were in a league of their own and had over two minutes down to Frenchman Terry Folb in third place.

“I was hoping to catch Tempestini on Saturday. We started the day with a fastest time and that was when I decided to just go for it and catch him on the following stage, which was the longest one of the rally. Unfortunately I pushed too hard and made a few mistakes. I simply wanted it too much. We also had an incident where we were very lucky to avoid a roll. We lost ten seconds on that stage. On the second last stage, we hit a rock and lost another ten seconds and then I realized that it would be difficult to beat Tempestini. The margins are very small at Rally Poland” explained Ole.

With that, Ole and his co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen decided to stop chasing Tempestini and do their own race. Sadly Rally Poland turned out to be a challenging event with technical problems, just like Rally Portugal. A broken driveshaft gave Folb a chance to pass them by in the overall standings and take second place, which left the Norwegians in third.

“It was bitter, but there was nothing we could do about it. However, the mechanics fixed the car for Sunday’s stages” said Ole, who finished the rally by being fastest on two out of three stages. Due to the difficult weather conditions, one stage had to be cancelled.

“To sum it up, I have to say that it has not been too bad, even though I really wanted to win. We have been incredibly fast and that is something I will take with me. It is disappointing that I did not get second place, but I still get valuable points for the championship and that I’m very happy about” said Ole.


JWRC 2016

19 – 22 May, Rally Portugal (gravel) 5th place
1 – 3 July, Rally Poland (gravel) 3rd place
28 – 31 July, Rally Finland (gravel)
18 – 21 August, Rally Germany (asphalt)
29 September – 2 October, France – Corsica (asphalt)
27 – 30 October, Wales Rally GB (gravel)