Patrick Enok wins Savonlinna Rally SM2 class
Rally driver Patrick Enok and his co-driver Aleks Lesk stormed to victory in the second-tier SM2 class at the Savonlinna Rally in Finland, securing their second consecutive Finnish Championship win with a dominant final stage performance in brutal conditions.
Overall, they placed sixth across all classes.
The race at Savonlinna in southeastern Finland was the third round of the national Finnish Rally Championship.
Post-race, Enok said: "Although the times might suggest otherwise, we weren't holding back in the first half of the day. The pace of the others was good enough, and at times, Renault's advantage over Ford became evident."
"The time on the final stage was a bit of a surprise, even though from inside the car it felt like we hadn't left much on the track. We were trying to drive fast all the time, but it seems like we managed to find an extra gear on the last stage," Enok went on.
This was his second consecutive victory in the SM2 class of the Finnish Rally Championship, and with it, he climbed to the top position in the season standings.
Their ability to adapt to the unpredictable terrain ultimately secured the Estonian pair the top spot.
After the first stage, the Estonians recorded the seventh-fastest time, losing 9.5 seconds to stage winner Ville Vatanen.
However, in the second stage of the day, they posted the second-best time, which lifted them to third place overall (+14.8).
Vatanen rolled his car on the third stage and had to retire, allowing the Estonians to claim the lead with their first stage win of the day.
This unexpected turn of events reshuffled the leaderboard, creating new opportunities for Enok and Lesk.
Due to poor conditions, the penultimate stage of the rally was canceled, meaning that the SM2 class winners were determined by the final 23.61 km stage, which was anything but easy due to thawing weather.
The overall victory in the Savonlinna Rally went to Esapekka Lappi / Enni Mälkönen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), with Enok and Lesk finishing sixth overall, trailing the winners by 1:58.3.
The Finnish Championship season will continue on the last weekend of May with the Länsirannikon Rally in Turku, which will also serve as the third round of the Terminal Estonian Rally Championship.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
