SICK BUT SLICK GREENSMITH SHOWS HIS CLASS IN KENYA
Gus Greensmith failed to go the distance on his Safari Rally debut in 2022. On his return at the weekend after a year away, the Manchester driver’s performance suggested he’ll be in it for the long haul in terms of his title WRC2 ambitions.
The 27-year-old won eight stages as he led from start to finish, taking victory on his first outing of the season by 1m23.1s. And all this while he fought off the effects of flu-like symptoms.
Although Oliver Solberg’s myriad punctures helped Greensmith’s cause, the Manchester driver never faltered on his way to sixth overall and had the beating of Solberg prior to his Toksport team-mate picking up his first puncture on stage three.
“I don’t know what I’m more proud of, not shitting myself on Friday or winning the rally,” said Greensmith, who is co-driven by Swede Jonas Andersson. “It’s been a long week but I’m really, really happy. Thank you to the team, they’ve been perfect.”
Greensmith, in his second season back at WRC2 level, found the going extremely tough on Friday afternoon. After completing the first leg 3m23s ahead of Kajetanowiz, he said: “This has been the toughest afternoon I’ve ever had in rallying. I’m absolutely exhausted and need a bed.”
With his health improving on Saturday, Greensmith drove with caution throughout the day as Solberg’s efforts to make up for lost time on Friday brought him to within 1m55s of Greeensmith.
“It’s been fine today, I am feeling better now,” Greensmith said at the end of Saturday’s running. “We took the last one nice and easy because we knew it was going to be rough, and it made no sense to lose time changing a tyre. Nothing was more physically demanding than yesterday – today, in comparison, was a walk in the park.”