ERC: Rallye Sanremo / Rally review
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Uncharacteristically Lappi took a steady approach to the Sanremo, it paid off in the end.
No champion
Kopecky took the ERC during the previous event
in Croatia while Lappi was boosting his air miles by
competing in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship
(APRC). Although he took two wins, he had to let
the title to Indian Gaurav Gill, also in a Skoda. Next
year though, the Skoda factory drivers will switch
roles. Kopecky will head east to try and clinch the
APRC crown while Lappi gets his chance to shine
on the European continent. From that perspective,
it’s not that strange to see Lappi compete in Sanremo rather than the newly crowned champion Kopecky. However it did feel somewhat weird to have
crowned a champion but not have him at the start
of the remainder of the season (he skipped the final round in Switzerland too).
Top-seeded Craig Breen was once again disappointed as mechanical problems ended
his chances of succes.
The absence of Kopecky, who has been utterly dominant this year, did give the opportunity to
Breen and Bouffier to add some luster to their
seasons. Breen was touted as one of the championship favourites before the season and started
well enough. Four podium finishes in the first six
rounds brought him up as high as second in the
championship (behind the shear unbeatable Kopecky). However his luck turned for the worse in
the second half when technical issues and some
mistakes put him out of contention. His pace is
unquestioned though and it really should be only
a matter of time before he secures his first major
rally win.
No stranger to winning is Bryan Bouffier. The experience Frenchman alr