Jon Armstrong and Eoin Treacy forced out of Bauhaus Royal Rally 

FORCED OUT: Jon Armstrong/Eoin Treacy (Ford Fiesta Rally2) pictured during the Bauhaus Royal Rally of Scandinavia, round three of the FIA European Rally Championship. Pic: Red Bull Content Pool.

The Irish crew of Kesh driver Jon Armstrong and Killeagh co-driver Eoin Treacy were forced out of the Bauhaus Royal Rally of Scandinavia when their M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 overheated on SS14 of the event, round three of the FIA European Rally Championship.

Home hero Oliver Solberg (22) onboard his Pirelli shod Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 produced a thrilling performance to finish 38s ahead of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 of Finland’s Mikka Heikkila with New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) 13s further behind in third. 

Elsewhere, Cookstown’s Philip Allen (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) retired after an accident during SS12 while Galway’s Aoife Raftery (Peugeot 208 Rally4) finished seventh of the nine finishers in the Junior ERC category where Max McRae rolled his similar car on the second stage. The grandson of seven time Circuit of Ireland Rally winner Jimmy, re-started Saturday’s final leg, posted a stage win but rolled on SS15 before finishing ninth.

Having posted the fifth best time on Friday night’s spectator stage and even though he admitted he “messed up” at one corner Armstrong was delighted with the set-up of his Fiesta Rally2 ahead of Friday’s eight stages. As Paddon and Solberg battled for supremacy, Armstrong/Treacy, running fourth on the road struggled for grip - dropping to fifteenth on SS2 before finishing thirteenth overnight, their best performance was ninth on SS7. Solberg ended the leg with a 3.3s lead over Paddon with Heikkila a further 9.4s behind.

Having moved into twelfth during the early stages on Saturday, Armstrong remained at a disadvantage, this time running third on the road and having to sweep the loose gravel. After completing SS10 he said, “It's quite loose in some places. We slide around a lot but it is all about keeping momentum. We need to see what we can do and see if we can get some good times.” 

Struggling for rhythm on SS11, some undergrowth punctured the radiator near the end of SS12 and they eventually retired when the car overheated on SS14.

Solberg was best on all four stages of the morning loop to move 13.7s clear of Paddon and replicated the situation in the afternoon before claiming back-to-back wins in the event. Paddon entered the final stage in second spot but tyre damage cost him time and a place on Power Stage as Heikkila took the runner-up spot. The next round of the series, also a gravel event, is the Delfi Rally Estonia (July 5/7).

Meanwhile, in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship Spaniard Daniel Mogeda racing with the Cork based Team #109 lost the lead of the series after the opening third round race in Misano, Italy on Saturday. The Spanish rider, who re-joined the Irish team this year, qualified on pole and was aiming to become the first rider to win three races in succession - having won the double header last round at the TT Circuit in Assen. It was his first ever pole position and he led for several laps before losing top spot during the final third of the twelve lap race. 

However, he was still very much in contention until he was involved in an incident that relegated him to the lower regions of the top ten. Another incident brought him down, unfortunately, he was declared unfit to race in yesterday’s second race.

Ferrari netted its second successive victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours as the #50 Ferrari 499P of Nickas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina took the chequered flag 14s ahead of the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez. The #51 Ferrari of defending champions Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi completed the podium.

Bauhaus Royal Rally of Scandinavia (Round 3, FIA European Rally Championship) Karlstad: 1. O. Solberg/E. Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS) 1h. 32m. 40.8s; 2. M. Heikkilä/K. Temonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally)+38s; 3. H. Paddon/J. Kennard (Hyundai i20 N Rally2)+51s; 4. F. Larsen/L. Lundgren (Volkswagen Polo GTi)+1m. 28.7s; 5. M. Ostberg/P. Barth (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 33.8s; 6. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+1m. 41.7s.