European rally weekend: Neuville fastest at Rallylegend spectacle
Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC stars Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen were the main stars of the 17th edition of the Rallylegend event that took place the previous weekend in San Marino.
One of the most popular rally events in Europe gathered fans and drivers from all over the world to have fun over three days, no matter the results. However, Neuville and Mikkelsen fulfilled the expectations and they were the fastest drivers in the field. Neuville and his navigator Nicolas Gilsoul were sharing the #1 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC while Mikkelsen and Anders Jaeger participated in an older version of Hyundai i20 WRC.
Some other world-known stars were Ken Block, who was third-fastest and the winner of the Myth category in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth, or former world rallycross champion Mattias Ekstrom, who had a show in his Audi S1 EKS RX. There were also Miki Biasion, Andrea Dovizioso and many other drivers but the main stars were the cars, representing rallying from the past fifty years.
Ken Block at Rallylegend in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth
Many national championship events also took place over the weekend. In Verona, the 37th Rally Due Valli was the seventh round of the Italian championship. Andrea Crognola has won the event in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, beating Simone Campedelli (Ford Fiesta R5) and Giandomenico Basso (Škoda Fabia R5).
In Spain, Surhayen Pernia (Hyundai i20 R5) triumphed at the 40th Rallye Santander Cantabria, the ninth round of the Spanish championship, beating his Hyundai Motor Espana teammate Ivan Ares. Citroen Rally Team’s Pepe Lopez completed a podium in a Citroen C3 R5.
In Hungary, the 53rd Mecsek Rally was the seventh round of the national championship. Andras Hadik took the victory in a Ford Fiesta R5, twenty seconds ahead of Polish driver Grzegorz Grzyb in a Škoda Fabia R5.
Another Hungarian driver in a Ford Fiesta R5 – Antal Kovacs – took the victory at 20th Rally Poreč in Croatia. The event counts for the Croatian and Slovenian rally championships.
Antal Kovacs in a Ford Fiesta R5 at 20th Rally Poreč
Photos: Rallylegend, Zvonimir Kranjčec,
