Toughest yet for Whittock
Ross Whittock was back in action at the Barum Rally; the latest stage of the European Rally Championship. The two-day event on the closed public roads of rural Czech Republic proved unpredictable due to heavy rain prior and during the first day. Some corners were like ice as Whittock and driver Chris Ingram struggled from start to finish to find grip from their Pirelli tyres. They started cautiously but still managed to visit the undergrowth on stage 3, losing some 45 seconds to the leaders and the little confidence Ingram and Whittock had managed to stitch together. Day 2 took them away from the fast sections as they were faced with more technical terrain but still slippery. They changed the setup of the car which helped a lot and proceeded to climb the leaderboard, setting top-three stage times. The event was won by multiple past winners Jan Kopesky in the factory Skoda Fabia R5, and third was snatched on the last stage by WRC regular Dani Sordo. Bath Motor Club’s Whittock and Ingram, in their sponsored Skoda Fabia prepared by the German based Toksport WRT team, finished a creditable eighth overall, but more importantly finished third in the under-28 Junior Championship with everything to fight for in the next round in Poland. Before their trip to Poland, they are competing in two weeks on the next WRC round: Rally Turkey. There they will be fighting in WRC 2 class against the world’s best.