Adrien Fourmaux delivered in style on his Rally Islas Canarias debut, taking his first outright victory in the European Rally Championship and topping the ERC1 Junior classification to boot in his M-Sport Ford World Rally Team-entered Fiesta R5 MkII.
Co-driven by Belgian Renaud Jamoul and using Michelin tyres, Frenchman Fourmaux moved in front on the rain-hit final morning and held firm in the closing stages with Yoann Bonato making it an all-French one-two in his Michelin-equipped Citroën C3 R5.
Iván Ares, driving a Pirelli-shod Hyundai i20 R5, was the top Spanish finisher in third with Oliver Solberg clinching the ERC1 Junior crown in fourth**.
The 19-year-old was followed home by José Suárez and Andreas Mikkelsen as seventh place was enough for Alexey Lukyanuk to become ERC champion for the second time in three years**.
Armed with a Saintéloc Junior Team-run Citroën C3 R5 on Pirelli tyres, Lukyanuk was reunited with long-term co-driver Alexey Arnautov for the 2020 ERC finale after partnering with Dmitry Feofanov on the first four rounds of the season. Although there were frustrations along the way caused by tyre compound choice and changeable weather, Lukyanuk drove virtually without fault from start to finish.
“There was so much work before, now it’s history,” said Lukyanuk. “Of course, it was a long, tough season with all the things going on in the world but I’m really happy with a successful finish of the rally and of the season. I am happy with my driving in general, maybe not today, but during the season it was strong with solid performances and pretty reliable. We have improved but it’s not easy to fight with limited resources although so far it’s worked.”
“It will be harder and harder in the future so we will have to adjust. But this title would not be possible without the support of Citroën, Total, Saintéloc and Pirelli. For Citroën this is their first FIA European Rally Championship [in the Rally2 class”
P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge awards drivers
The P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge, run for the first time during the 2019 ERC season finale in Hungary, continued on Rally Islas Canarias. It rewarded the top three finishes in ERC1 and ERC2 with fuel vouchers that can be exchanged for P1 XR5 race fuel at subsequent events, helping competitors to further reduce the cost of competing. Across both categories, the winning drivers received 150 litres of fuel, while the second and third placed drivers received 100L and 50L respectively.
TOP 15 ERC POSITIONS (after 17 stages, 200.87 kilometres)
1 Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Renaud Jamoul (BEL) Ford Fiesta R5 MkII 2h12m21.2s
2 Yoann Bonato (FRA)/Benjamin Boulloud (FRA) Citroën C3 R5 +25.0s
3 Iván Ares (ESP)/David Vázquez (ESP) Hyundai i20 R5 +55.6s
4 Oliver Solberg (SWE)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 +1m17.4s
5 José Suárez (ESP)/Alberto Iglesias (ESP) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +1m39.1s
6 Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)/Anders Jæger-Amland (NOR) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +1m48.8s
7 Alexey Lukyanuk (RUS)/Alexey Arnautov (RUS) Citroën C3 R5 +2m10.6s
8 Callum Devine (IRL)/James Fulton (IRL) Hyundai i20 R5 +2m25.7s
9 Miko Marczyk (POL)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +2m32.1s
10 Luis Monzón (ESP)/José Carlos Déniz (ESP) Citroën C3 R5 +2m32.4s
11 Craig Breen (IRL)/Paul Nagle (IRL) Hyundai i20 R5 +2m33.0s
12 Surhayen Pernía (ESP)/Eduardo Gonzalez (ESP) Hyundai i20 R5 +2m34.1s
13 Marijan Griebel (DEU)/Pirmin Winklhofer (AUT) Citroën C3 R5 +3m01.0s
14 Simone Tempestini (ROU)/Sergiu Itu (ROU) Citroën C3 R5 +3m30.3s
15 Enrique Cruz (ESP)/Yeray Mujica (ESP) Ford Fiesta R5 MkII +3m38.9s
FIA ERC2: Tibor Érdi Jr (HUN)/Zoltán Csökö (HUN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
FIA ERC3: Ken Torn (EST)/Kauri Pannas (EST) Ford Fiesta Rally4
FIA ERC1 Junior: Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Renaud Jamoul (BEL) Ford Fiesta R5 MkII
FIA ERC3 Junior: Ken Torn (EST)/Kauri Pannas (EST) Ford Fiesta Rally4
Abarth Rally Cup: Dariusz Poloński (POL)/Łukasz Sitek (POL) Abarth 124 rally
