SS17: Makinen flies through Margam
Out-going world champion Tommi Makinen made sure that he held on to third place in the Network Q Rally of Great Britain with a faultless drive through the last of Sunday's stages
The Finn had been battling with Ford's Carlos Sainz over the first two of today's stages to see who would be on the final podium place come Sunday evening. But Makinen ensured the third spot by being the only driver to break the 17-minute mark through the 28.13km Margam stage, while Sainz could only manage the fourth fastest time, 18 seconds slower than Makinen.
The surprise of the stage was Estonia's rising star Markko Martin in the Toyota Corolla. He was second quickest, closely followed by veteran Juha Kankkunen in the Subaru.
Sainz has not got fond memories of Margam. The Spaniard almost had the world championship in his grasp when his engine blew with the finish line in sight two years ago, so perhaps with that in mind, the Ford driver was not wanting to push too hard. His fourth place in the rally secures third place in the championship.
Richard Burns' sixth fastest time was enough to see the Englishman take his third Rally GB victory in a row, while new world champion Marcus Gronholm took it relatively easy, setting the 11th fastest time.
To see SS17 results, click here.
To see final standings click here.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments