PONS AND FORD FIESTA S2000 TRIUMPHS IN S-WRC SHOWDOWN

FORD Fiesta S2000 driver Xevi Pons has been crowned winner of this year’s Super 2000 World Rally Championship (S-WRC) after a final round battle on the rain-soaked Wales Rally GB. 

Fellow Fiesta S2000 driver Jari Ketomaa’s hopes of taking the title were dashed when the Finn rolled his car on Sunday’s opening stage.  

Pons’ third place finish and his 15-point haul meant the Spaniard clinched the title over Patrik Sandell by 12 points. Fiesta S2000 driver Martin Prokop completes this year’s S-WRC podium line-up, a further seven points behind Sandell.
 
“I’m delighted to win the championship. It was all I cared about this weekend,” said an excited Pons. 
 
“I hadn’t competed on gravel at a WRC event on gravel for four months before Wales so it took me a while to find a good rhythm but I really wasn’t too bothered about my final position, all I wanted was to win the title.
 
“I was driving as fast as I could for most of the weekend and I know I didn’t match my pace from Mexico and Jordan but I really didn’t care as my end position was enough to win the championship. It’s been a great year and I’m so happy to have taken the title this weekend.”
 
Fellow Ford Fiesta S2000 driver Craig Breen finished his debut in the S-WRC in a remarkable second place.  Dennis Kuipers was not registered to score S-WRC points but finished a credible 16th overall.
 
Breen said; “I’m over the moon with this result. We had an unfortunate start on Friday with the puncture but I can’t believe how much things have changed. We’d actually driven some of the weekend’s stages as part of the Bulldog Rally back in March – some of the tests were run in opposite directions but it definitely helped knowing what to expect although the roads were a lot muddier and slippery this time round.
 
“It just feels fantastic to finish on the podium and hopefully it’ll set the precedent for when I compete in the WRC Academy next year,” the Irishman concluded.
 
M-Sport’s award-winning car has enjoyed a fantastic season claiming an impressive nine podium finishes in the S-WRC and two podium spots in the overall championship standings.
 
With only nine points separating Pons, Ketomaa and Sandell prior to the Welsh event, competition was always going to be fierce on the final S-WRC counter. However, Sandell’s challenge for the three-way title scrap faltered with power steering failure on Stage 5 and with no opportunity to repair the fault, the Swede was forced to drive two more stages before service, effectively dropping out of title contention.
 
A two-way title fight ensued between Pons and Ketomaa and by the end of the first day, Ketomaa was second in S-WRC with Pons fourth.
 
Day 2 did not bode well for Ketomaa as Pons moved up into third after Eyvind Brynildsen retired on Stage 11.  With Pons only one spot behind Ketomaa and the Finn in desperate need of the extra nine points for championship victory, his hopes for the title looked increasingly unlikely.
 
Eventually Ketomaa’s bid for championship glory was ended when he crashed his Ford Fiesta S2000 on Sunday’s opening stage.  That error consolidated Pons’ thirdplace finish and secured him the S-WRC title. 
 
”What can I say?  I’m so disappointed to lose the championship - I came here to win,” said Ketomaa afterwards.
 
“I beat Andreas Mikkelsen on four stages on Saturday but we lost too much time on the Friday. We changed the dampers, the springs and the rollbar, which has given us a lot more grip coming out of the corners yesterday.  I knew that we couldn’t win the title unless something happened to Pons or we could take the lead from Mikkelsen so we decided to push to the limit today.
 
“Unfortunately we pushed too hard and rolled on the first stage on a left hand bend. We’ve had three victories in the S-WRC this year and I’m so disappointed not to have won the title.”