Autosportfoto

Winning trio head WRC 2 entries

Three category winners head a small but high-quality WRC 2 entry in the opening round of the championship's principal support class at Rallye Monte-Carlo (25 - 28 january).

Eric Camilli, championship runner-up last season, and M-Sport Ford World Rally Team colleague Teemu Suninen drive Fiesta R5s, while asphalt expert Jan Kopecký will front the challenge of teams champion Skoda Motorsport.

Frenchman Camilli carries home advantage on the difficult Alpine roads and plans to put the wisdom gained from three previous starts to good use.

"Anything can happen on the Monte, but that added knowledge should help when it comes to reading the road and knowing when to push and when to be more cautious," he said.

"This rally is very unforgiving so we will need to work hard and make all the right choices. We will need to be clever and give it our very best."

Suninen, who finished third in the points in 2017, recently confirmed an eight-round World Rally Car programme and his presence is to gain experience of the notoriously tricky winter conditions on only his second Monte start.

At the other end of the experience scale is 35-year-old veteran Kopecký, who makes his seventh event start in Skoda Motorsport's Fabia R5. It will sport a special livery featuring the Czech flag to mark the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia's creation.

Another potential winner is Dutchman Kevin Abbring. The former factory Hyundai Motorsport driver lines up in a Fiesta R5.

The WRC 2 entry is completed by rookies Guillaume de Mevius (Peugeot 208 T16) and Eddie Sciessere (Citroën DS 3).

Also entered in Fabia R5s are Skoda youngsters Kalle Rovanperä and Ole Christian Veiby. Both will be category regulars this year but have not named Monte-Carlo as a scoring event and their focus will be on experience.

Zdroj: wrc.com