Day report: Galatariotis turns local legend with stunning ERC Cyprus finish
ByERC
Published 17/06/2018 at 16:38 GMT
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Image credit: ERC
Simos Galatariotis cemented his status as a local legend by scoring a dramatic last-gasp FIA European Rally Championship victory over Nasser Al-Attiyah on his home event, the Cyprus Rally.
Home favourite Galatariotis captured a first win for a Cypriot driver on Cyprus Rally in 10 years despite carrying a front right puncture to the finish line of the ENEOS Golden Stage.
Al-Attiyah had stormed into first place in the penultimate stage of Leg Two, taking 20.6s out of Galatariotis to gain a 2.3s lead with one stage remaining.
However, Al-Attiyah was forced to stop and change a puncture close to the finish of the Cyprus Rally’s final test, his attempts to continue with a deflating tyre for several kilometres ultimately in vain.
SEAJETS-backed Bruno Magalhães overtook Al-Attiyah in-stage moments before the finish line to snatch second place and a points lead in the ERC championship standings.
His weekend-long approach of being sensible and avoid rocks at all costs paid dividends, ensuring another top result after his win on EKO Acropolis Rally two weeks ago.
Norbert Herczig was promoted to a surprise second consecutive podium finish by Al-Attiyah’s stoppage, finishing 1m21.4s behind Galatariotis aboard his MOL Racing Team ŠKODA Fabia R5.
Al-Attiyah settled for fourth place after his late tyre change, while fifth went to Toksport WRT’s Orhan Avcioğlu, his first ERC top five finish.
Vojtéch Štajf turned the tables on Dávid Botka, whom he narrowly lost the ERC2 category title to back in 2015. ACCR Czech Team driver Štajf edged out his Sysinfo Rallye Team rival for sixth place by 13.4s, while behind both Albert von Thurn und Taxis scored his first ERC points finish of 2018 in eighth.
Petros Panteli sealed ninth place overall for Q8 Oils Rally Team, ahead of a rapidly recovering Alexandros Tsouloftas in P10. It was an astounding day’s work from Tsouloftas, going fastest across Leg Two’s five stages to score seven bonus points and also win the Golden Stage cash prize.
Leg Two recap: Lead battle goes down to the wire
Wevers Sport youngster Juuso Nordgren had gone into Leg Two with a 4.6s lead over Galatariotis, and despite a pledge to keep his driving clean and sensible, managed to extend his lead to 7.3 seconds after two stages.
From there Cyprus lost its second major victory contender after Alexey Lukyanuk’s retirement on Saturday afternoon. Nordgren rolled his ŠKODA Fabia R5 only one corner into the Lageia stage, losing a minute and dropping out of the podium places.
Nordgren’s mistake gave Galatariotis his first taste of first place, but pressure was strong from behind. Bruno Magalhães was only 3.3s behind, while Nasser Al-Attiyah was recovering rapidly from a double puncture late on Saturday.
Though Galatariotis had increased his margin over a cautious Magalhães to 12.7s by midday service, Al-Attiyah closed in further, 18.3.s in arrears. By now Nordgren had fallen out of contention altogether, retiring from a separate incident to his roll one stage later.
Cyprus’ lead battle quickly became a two-horse race, Magalhães backing off to secure ERC championship points and allowing his two rivals to take control out front.
Al-Attiyah turned in a storming drive through PSALTIS AUTOPARTS Golden Stage 1, 17.0s quicker than Magalhães and 20.6s ahead of Galatariotis to vault both and steal first place away with one stage remaning.
Magalhães’ safety-first approach would be vindicated however, as one of the most exciting finishes in ERC history played out amongst those in full attack mode. As onlookers awaited Al-Attiyah’s arrival at ENEOS Golden Stage 2’s finish line, they were surprised to see Magalhães show up instead. He had overtaken Al Attiyah late on in the final stage. Victory had been lost.
This would surely hand victory to Galatariotis, yet the Cyprus Rally was not finished creating more excitement. A front right puncture meant Galatariotis was half a minute off the pace, though he clung on to a first ERC victory by the smallest of margins. An 11.4s advantage had been slashed to 0.6s as Galatariotis crossed the final flying finish.
Al-Attiyah dropped to fourth place after trying his best to press ahead with a slow puncture to his front right tyre. Despite his best efforts, it risked causing extensive damage to his Ford Fiesta R5, so a spell on the side of the road to change it for a spare was required.
Behind Galatariotis and Magalhães was MOL Racing Team’s Nobert Herczig, picking up his second consecutive ERC podium finish. After SS2 on Saturday he had been down in ninth place overall, but methodically climbed his way up the order. He lost only 10.2s to eventual winner Galatariotis across Sunday’s five stages, showing how quickly he had improved in his first ever Cyprus Rally appearance.
Behind Al-Attiyah, a large midfield scrap carried over from Saturday continued well into Sunday, eventually headed by Orhan Avcioğlu. It was the Toksport WRT driver’s best ERC result to date, executing a measured drive on Sunday after a fence-demolishing trip through a field the day before.
Vojtéch Štajf turned the tables on his old ERC2 rival Dávid Botka in their battle over what would become sixth position. Štajf started with a 14.5s deficit to Botka, whom he had been defeated by for the ERC2 title in 2015, but turned this into a 13.4s advantage by rally end.
A pivotal moment in their battle came away from the special stages in a road section leading up to SS8. Botka missed a junction and arrived two minutes late, incurring a 20 second penalty to hand Štajf a position he would not relinquish.
Behind Botka in seventh was Albert von Thurn und Taxis, who was elated to have survived Cyprus’ treacherous stages and record his first ERC points finish of 2018 with eighth place. Despite starting first on the road and roadsweeping for all those behind him, he kept a steady pace all day, starting 4.6s behind Štajf and finishing 4.7s behind Botka.
Petros Panteli not only scored his first ERC2 category win, but dovetailed his production success with ninth overall in the full ERC classification. Though his heavier Q8 Oils Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X could not keep pace with his much more nimble R5 rivals, he held off his fellow compatriot Alexandros Tsouloftas by only 5.6s.
Tsouloftas had executed a stunning comeback drive on Sunday, going fastest across Sunday’s five stages to win Leg Two and take a maximum seven bonus points. He had retired late on Saturday from a potential podium position with a broken wishbone, but bounced back emphatically come Sunday.
Tsouloftas topped up his P10 finish and Leg Two victory with a double win in the Cyprus Rally’s ‘Golden Stage’, taking home a cash prize as both the quickest overall driver and also the quickest Cypriot.
Michalis Posedias brought his production-spec Lancer to the finish P11, while ERC3 category winner Laurent Pellier completed the Cyprus Rally P12, a fantastic result given he was piloting a less powerful front-wheel-drive R2 specification PEUGEOT 208.
Al-Attiyah had stormed into first place in the penultimate stage of Leg Two, taking 20.6s out of Galatariotis to gain a 2.3s lead with one stage remaining.
However, Al-Attiyah was forced to stop and change a puncture close to the finish of the Cyprus Rally’s final test, his attempts to continue with a deflating tyre for several kilometres ultimately in vain.
SEAJETS-backed Bruno Magalhães overtook Al-Attiyah in-stage moments before the finish line to snatch second place and a points lead in the ERC championship standings.
His weekend-long approach of being sensible and avoid rocks at all costs paid dividends, ensuring another top result after his win on EKO Acropolis Rally two weeks ago.
Norbert Herczig was promoted to a surprise second consecutive podium finish by Al-Attiyah’s stoppage, finishing 1m21.4s behind Galatariotis aboard his MOL Racing Team ŠKODA Fabia R5.
Al-Attiyah settled for fourth place after his late tyre change, while fifth went to Toksport WRT’s Orhan Avcioğlu, his first ERC top five finish.
Vojtéch Štajf turned the tables on Dávid Botka, whom he narrowly lost the ERC2 category title to back in 2015. ACCR Czech Team driver Štajf edged out his Sysinfo Rallye Team rival for sixth place by 13.4s, while behind both Albert von Thurn und Taxis scored his first ERC points finish of 2018 in eighth.
Petros Panteli sealed ninth place overall for Q8 Oils Rally Team, ahead of a rapidly recovering Alexandros Tsouloftas in P10. It was an astounding day’s work from Tsouloftas, going fastest across Leg Two’s five stages to score seven bonus points and also win the Golden Stage cash prize.
Leg Two recap: Lead battle goes down to the wire
Wevers Sport youngster Juuso Nordgren had gone into Leg Two with a 4.6s lead over Galatariotis, and despite a pledge to keep his driving clean and sensible, managed to extend his lead to 7.3 seconds after two stages.
From there Cyprus lost its second major victory contender after Alexey Lukyanuk’s retirement on Saturday afternoon. Nordgren rolled his ŠKODA Fabia R5 only one corner into the Lageia stage, losing a minute and dropping out of the podium places.
Nordgren’s mistake gave Galatariotis his first taste of first place, but pressure was strong from behind. Bruno Magalhães was only 3.3s behind, while Nasser Al-Attiyah was recovering rapidly from a double puncture late on Saturday.
Though Galatariotis had increased his margin over a cautious Magalhães to 12.7s by midday service, Al-Attiyah closed in further, 18.3.s in arrears. By now Nordgren had fallen out of contention altogether, retiring from a separate incident to his roll one stage later.
Cyprus’ lead battle quickly became a two-horse race, Magalhães backing off to secure ERC championship points and allowing his two rivals to take control out front.
Al-Attiyah turned in a storming drive through PSALTIS AUTOPARTS Golden Stage 1, 17.0s quicker than Magalhães and 20.6s ahead of Galatariotis to vault both and steal first place away with one stage remaning.
Magalhães’ safety-first approach would be vindicated however, as one of the most exciting finishes in ERC history played out amongst those in full attack mode. As onlookers awaited Al-Attiyah’s arrival at ENEOS Golden Stage 2’s finish line, they were surprised to see Magalhães show up instead. He had overtaken Al Attiyah late on in the final stage. Victory had been lost.
This would surely hand victory to Galatariotis, yet the Cyprus Rally was not finished creating more excitement. A front right puncture meant Galatariotis was half a minute off the pace, though he clung on to a first ERC victory by the smallest of margins. An 11.4s advantage had been slashed to 0.6s as Galatariotis crossed the final flying finish.
Al-Attiyah dropped to fourth place after trying his best to press ahead with a slow puncture to his front right tyre. Despite his best efforts, it risked causing extensive damage to his Ford Fiesta R5, so a spell on the side of the road to change it for a spare was required.
Behind Galatariotis and Magalhães was MOL Racing Team’s Nobert Herczig, picking up his second consecutive ERC podium finish. After SS2 on Saturday he had been down in ninth place overall, but methodically climbed his way up the order. He lost only 10.2s to eventual winner Galatariotis across Sunday’s five stages, showing how quickly he had improved in his first ever Cyprus Rally appearance.
Behind Al-Attiyah, a large midfield scrap carried over from Saturday continued well into Sunday, eventually headed by Orhan Avcioğlu. It was the Toksport WRT driver’s best ERC result to date, executing a measured drive on Sunday after a fence-demolishing trip through a field the day before.
Vojtéch Štajf turned the tables on his old ERC2 rival Dávid Botka in their battle over what would become sixth position. Štajf started with a 14.5s deficit to Botka, whom he had been defeated by for the ERC2 title in 2015, but turned this into a 13.4s advantage by rally end.
A pivotal moment in their battle came away from the special stages in a road section leading up to SS8. Botka missed a junction and arrived two minutes late, incurring a 20 second penalty to hand Štajf a position he would not relinquish.
Behind Botka in seventh was Albert von Thurn und Taxis, who was elated to have survived Cyprus’ treacherous stages and record his first ERC points finish of 2018 with eighth place. Despite starting first on the road and roadsweeping for all those behind him, he kept a steady pace all day, starting 4.6s behind Štajf and finishing 4.7s behind Botka.
Petros Panteli not only scored his first ERC2 category win, but dovetailed his production success with ninth overall in the full ERC classification. Though his heavier Q8 Oils Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X could not keep pace with his much more nimble R5 rivals, he held off his fellow compatriot Alexandros Tsouloftas by only 5.6s.
Tsouloftas had executed a stunning comeback drive on Sunday, going fastest across Sunday’s five stages to win Leg Two and take a maximum seven bonus points. He had retired late on Saturday from a potential podium position with a broken wishbone, but bounced back emphatically come Sunday.
Tsouloftas topped up his P10 finish and Leg Two victory with a double win in the Cyprus Rally’s ‘Golden Stage’, taking home a cash prize as both the quickest overall driver and also the quickest Cypriot.
Michalis Posedias brought his production-spec Lancer to the finish P11, while ERC3 category winner Laurent Pellier completed the Cyprus Rally P12, a fantastic result given he was piloting a less powerful front-wheel-drive R2 specification PEUGEOT 208.
The post Day report: Galatariotis turns local legend with stunning ERC Cyprus finish appeared first on FIA ERC.
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