Story from www.wrc.com
It was his first victory outside his native Spain – his only other success coming at Rally de Espana last year.
His Ford Fiesta R2 finished 1min 04.2sec ahead of Pontus Tidemand, who fought back from an opening stage puncture on Friday which cost more than two minutes. The Swede, winner of the opening round in Portugal, won eight of the 10 stages and retains the series lead, 10 points ahead of Suarez.*
“I didn't used to find it so easy competing on gravel, but my results this weekend really show the improvement I've made since I started competing in the WRC Academy in 2011,” said Suarez.
“I had to drive steadily and carefully after I took the lead, which wasn't easy with Pontus always pushing, but my strategy paid off,” he added.
Tidemand was relieved to keep his series lead. “It wasn't easy getting a puncture so early in the rally, immediately putting us at a disadvantage. But we found a good rhythm and pace, climbed to second and were really happy to hold our lead in the championship,” he said.
Sander Parn took the final podium place, inheriting third when Murat Bostanci retired on the final stage with a broken driveshaft. Bostanci relegated Parn from third on Saturday’s final stage when the Estonian lost time with a puncture, and was more than 40 seconds clear before disaster struck.
Michael Burri was fourth, despite suspension problems yesterday, with young Finn Niko-Pekka Nieminen and Martin Koci completing the finishers.
There were three other retirements. Early leader Yeray Lemes stopped on the first day with broken suspension, and then again yesterday with a damaged damper. Marius Aasen stopped yesterday when a broken damper damaged the engine on his Fiesta, after rolling on the previous stage.
Andreas Amberg was another last stage casualty, retiring with a broken suspension wishbone.
Click here for the final Junior WRC results.
More...
It was his first victory outside his native Spain – his only other success coming at Rally de Espana last year.
His Ford Fiesta R2 finished 1min 04.2sec ahead of Pontus Tidemand, who fought back from an opening stage puncture on Friday which cost more than two minutes. The Swede, winner of the opening round in Portugal, won eight of the 10 stages and retains the series lead, 10 points ahead of Suarez.*
“I didn't used to find it so easy competing on gravel, but my results this weekend really show the improvement I've made since I started competing in the WRC Academy in 2011,” said Suarez.
“I had to drive steadily and carefully after I took the lead, which wasn't easy with Pontus always pushing, but my strategy paid off,” he added.
Tidemand was relieved to keep his series lead. “It wasn't easy getting a puncture so early in the rally, immediately putting us at a disadvantage. But we found a good rhythm and pace, climbed to second and were really happy to hold our lead in the championship,” he said.
Sander Parn took the final podium place, inheriting third when Murat Bostanci retired on the final stage with a broken driveshaft. Bostanci relegated Parn from third on Saturday’s final stage when the Estonian lost time with a puncture, and was more than 40 seconds clear before disaster struck.
Michael Burri was fourth, despite suspension problems yesterday, with young Finn Niko-Pekka Nieminen and Martin Koci completing the finishers.
There were three other retirements. Early leader Yeray Lemes stopped on the first day with broken suspension, and then again yesterday with a damaged damper. Marius Aasen stopped yesterday when a broken damper damaged the engine on his Fiesta, after rolling on the previous stage.
Andreas Amberg was another last stage casualty, retiring with a broken suspension wishbone.
Click here for the final Junior WRC results.
More...
Source: http://www.motorsportforums.com/wrc-news/158657-suarez-takes-junior-wrc-win-greece.html
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