2016 FIA World Rally Championship - Dayinsure Wales Rally GB

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2016 FIA World Rally Championship - Dayinsure Wales Rally GB

Tuesday, 01. 11. 2016 - 14:31, Public relations

The 2016 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB saw Jose Antonio Suarez wrap up his programme with the Peugeot Rally Academy with his seventh WRC2 appearance of the season. • In the course of a weekend of ups and downs, the Spaniard provided yet another glimpse of his speed as he concluded his first world class season in a four-wheel drive car.

A challenging opening day

Jose Antonio Suarez and Candido Carrera got their weekend off to a cautious start, intent on not making any mistakes on the British round's notoriously slippery and tricky stages. While running inside the WRC2 class's top 10 after SS3, however, the Peugeot Rally Academy pair lost more than 15 minutes on the following test when they slid into a ditch. After making positive changes to the set-up of his 208T16 for the day's second competitive loop, the Spaniard completed the opening leg just shy of a points-scoring position.

Refound confidence!

Jose Antonio kicked off Day 2 determined to end his campaign with the Peugeot Rally Academy on a high note. Putting his woes of the previous leg to the back of his mind, he hit the ground running to clock up a sequence of third- and fourth-fastest times on a level with those of the WRC2 pacesetters.

Mixed feelings...

For the third and final leg, he failed to find the rhythm and confidence he had shown on Saturday and the result was a hard day. Even so, he was pleased with the experience he has gained over the year with the Peugeot Rally Academy. "The first leg was muddy and foggy which made the conditions very complex, but that's precisely what we were expecting" he reported. "It was an extremely tough rally but I am happy to have spent the season with the Peugeot Rally Academy! I would like to thank all the members of the team with whom I was able to discover the World Rally Championship in ideal conditions. I am very proud to have been part of the squad. Now it's time to start planning for 2017 and I'm already working on putting a programme together."