PONS AND NUTAHARA HEADING FOR POINTS ON RALLY OF TURKEY

MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION DRIVERS PONS AND NUTAHARA HEADING FOR POINTS ON RALLY OF TURKEY 
 
  Rally of Turkey (PWRC Round 4/8) 
 
  June 4, Leg 2 
   
 Kemer, Turkey -  However, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution duo look set to score points when the rally finishes tomorrow afternoon.

The second leg of the event was every bit as grueling as expected. Drivers faced 150 kilometers of long, often twisty stages in the Taurus Mountains west of Kemer and even at altitudes of 1,500 meters or more, ambient temperatures regularly exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. Occasional downpours added to the challenge, with dust in some places and mud in others, placing a premium on bravery and often making tire choice a lottery.

Xavier Pons confirmed the speed of the Lancer Evolution once more with a series of blistering times, including fastest in SS15. But the Spaniard had to stop on a stage once more to change a puncture and he was hampered by a gearbox problem when closing on the leader. Fifth place in the PWRC at the end of the second leg does his performance no justice.

“We have tried hard today and not been so lucky I think,” he said. “We have lost quite a lot of time with the puncture, but we are still in a position to score points and there are two long stages to go tomorrow. Maybe we can still move up a little bit, but it will not be easy.”

Japan’s Fumio Nutahara has belied his complete lack of experience in Turkey with a polished performance in his Lancer Evolution, setting fastest PWRC time in stage 12 and regularly matching the leaders. He has climbed to sixth place in the classification, rounding the leg off with another fastest time in the super special stage.

“Today has been a bit easier than the first leg. It has not been so slippery and we have been able to drive a bit faster. I am very happy with our performance, but we cannot relax. We have to keep pushing tomorrow,” Nutahara said.

Argentina’s Federico Villagra is climbing the order in his Lancer Evolution after a difficult start to the rally and has passed FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Champion Karamjit Singh. Italian Angelo Medeghini is also recovering from a few setbacks during the first leg in his similar car.

The third concluding leg is much the shortest with just two stages, but it promises a true sting in the tail, for the last stage is the longest of all, covering 33.35 kilometers.