GRYAZINCLAIMSUNDER28TITLE
Russiandrivertakesvictoryandr5prizedrive.by Grahamlister
In terms of tall orders, the sixth running of Latvia’s Rally Liepaja was right up there for Chris Ingram.
The Briton, on only his second high-speed gravel event in an R5 car, not only had to overcome a dearth of experience of all things four-wheel-drive flat out between the trees, he also had to get the better of Nikolay Gryazin to stand any change of winning the ERC Junior Under 28 title.
Despite his Russian nationality, Gryazin holds a Latvian licence, lives in the capital Riga, speaks the language and – crucially – trained to go fast on the long corners and straights that make up this blast in the Baltics.
With ERC Junior U28 drivers counting their best four scores from six, Gryazin’s three victories to Ingram’s solo success made him the man to watch.
Having turned 21 in the week leading up to the event and boosted by his outright win here 12 months ago and in Poland last time out in the championship last month, Gryazin didn’t disappoint, winning the Qualifying Stage on Friday and the first five stages of the event proper.
It would have been six in a row but for a puncture on Saturday’s closing run, although with a 19-second overnight advantage to Ingram, Gryazin wasn’t exactly troubled by his delay.
“Maybe I could be faster but it’s more about being strategic, knowing where to push and where not to push,” he said.
To underline his dominance, Gryazin added three Sunday stage bests to his tally for a lead of 36.8s with just the afternoon trio of stages left. Although there were no more fastest times from the Sports Racing Technologies driver, neither was it necessary. Instead, Gryazin showed great maturity to keep out of trouble to win the title and 100,000 euros for his next career move.
“It feels good and I’m really satisfied,” Gryazin said. “I don’t show emotions too much but I’m really happy. We improved a lot this year, our pacenotes and our driving on Tarmac. We had a good strategy and a good preparation for each event. Now I look to next year. I think it will be WRC2 but I also get two rounds of the ERC as my gift from Eurosport.”
From the high of winning the ERC Junior U27 title in Latvia last season, Ingram had to make do with the U28 runner-up spot behind Gryazin.
“I’m disappointed because we’ve worked so hard but we’re at the end with nothing,” said Ingram.
“Nikolay deserves to be champion but it was really pleasing to be barely off his pace on some stages.”
Fredrik Ahlin, last year’s British Rally Championship runner-up, beat Fabian Kreim to third place behind Ingram, a two-wheel moment through a ditch on the last stage not helping Kreim’s efforts to complete the podium.
Brit Rhys Yates fought back from a confidence-depleting moment on Sunday’s opener to finish seventh on his second outing in a Roman Kresta-run car.
Catie Munnings won the ERC Ladies’ Trophy section on the event but lost the title to Spaniard Emma Falcon when dropped scores came into play. Petter Solberg’s son Oliver impressed in the two-wheel-drive class before stopping with a broken engine.