Yates scores top 10 in Monza WRC debut
Rhys Yates impressed with a top 10 finish on only his second ever World Rally Car outing at last weekend’s Monza Rally.
Yates, who has contested a mixture of British and European Rally Championship events this season, stepped up from his usual Skoda Fabia R5 to a 2014 Ford Fiesta RS WRC for his Italian circuit outing.
He drove the car for the first time at a smaller event at Monza last month, finishing second and feeling well prepared for last weekend.
Faced with competition from the likes of six-time Monza winner Valentino Rossi and M-sport factory driver Teemu Suninen in current-specification World Rally Cars, Yates focused his attentions on the WRC16 class, where he finished fifth.
“It’s a great event,” he said. “Getting out in the world car was really good; the thing’s so much more aggressive going into and coming out of corners. We had a good run and being a bit of a bike family, being around guys like Tony Cairoli and [Valentino] Rossi is pretty special.
“The aim of the weekend was to get to the Masters’ Show, which takes the top six from each class to a sort of shootout event in front of the big crowd. We got there, but then had a problem with the car and had to retire, which was frustrating. But all in all, it was a great weekend.”
Rossi won the event for the seventh time, driving a 2017spec Fiesta WRC.