Podium Lockout For Toksport WRT in Mexico
Toksport WRT prepared Škoda Fabia’s not only wins, but also scores 2nd and 3rd place in Mexico.
Gus Greensmith & Jonas Andersson won the spectacular, yet again challengingly tough rally while our World Champions Emil Lindholm & Reeta Hämäläinen finishing in the second and Rally Sweden winners Oliver Solberg & Elliott Edmondson finishing in third place.
Despite having limited testing time prior to the event, Greensmith appeared well-acquainted with his Toksport-prepared machine. He consistently posted top-three stage times throughout the morning and reached the mid-leg service just 3.0sec down on overnight leader Emil Lindholm, who drives a Fabia Rally2 Evo.
It put the Brit in prime position to pounce in the afternoon when Lindholm dropped 14 seconds on the second passage of El Chocolate, demoting the Finn four positions and leaving Greensmith on top, where he remained for the rest of the day.
“The morning was a little bit tricky because the tyres were overheating, but I knew that once we put the hard tyres on I could go much quicker,” Greensmith said. “It’s a nice lead, but not a massive one. It’s all about managing risks and the pace here, and trying to be tidy.”
WRC2 competitors waited until the final stage of the morning loop for their day to get fully underway after SS11 was red-flagged following the crash of a Rally1 crew. All crews were redirected to the beginning of SS14 – Las Dunas Super Special 2. Despite the delayed start, Greensmith saw his overnight lead extended from 8.5sec to 18.5sec. He also managed to strengthen his advantage over Fourmaux, ending the day 31.6sec in front going into Sunday’s four-stage finale.
Oliver Solberg, also driving a Fabia RS Rally2, was on a charge after dropping more than 1min 30sec with a puncture on Friday. They won all five stages.
Greensmith started on Sunday carrying a comfortable 34.6sec lead over his rivals. He knew that he simply needed to avoid any mistakes in the remaining stages, leaving the rest of the field to battle for second and third places. And that’s exactly what he did, coming home 32.9sec clear of his nearest challenger after a clean run through the four-stage finale.
“From stage six onwards, this whole rally was under control for me,” said a delighted Greensmith. “When we needed to go faster, we could gap everyone, and after that, it was just about controlling it and not making any mistakes. It’s the perfect way to start the season.”
