Pedro Heller claimed his maiden WRC 2 win at this weekend’s Rally Argentina – piloting his EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta R5 to a commanding nine-and-a-half minute victory. Delivering a clean and tidy drive, he and co-driver Marc Marti didn’t put a foot wrong and coupled their intelligent drive with stage-winning pace.
The win demonstrates the strength of the Fiesta as well as its continued power and performance. Winning all but four of the 17 stages contested, the current Fiesta R5 remains a force to be reckoned with – securing top results around the world. Work on the new car continues at pace and it is expected to make its FIA World Rally Championship debut at Rally Finland later this year.
Pedro Heller (1st WRC 2) said:
“This is our first victory and for sure we will enjoy it. We had the rhythm, we had the pace, and we delivered a really clean rally. Marc and I took a lot of care with the pacenotes and they are working really well – I think that’s one of the reasons for our success this weekend.
“We had a scare in the final kilometre when all of the alarms came on and the car went into safety mode! Everything stopped and it was one of the worst feelings of my life! Then after some seconds it came back and we were able to complete the final kilometres in road mode. We had built a really big lead during the weekend and thankfully everything worked out alright – allowing us to take this amazing victory.”
ELSEWHERE IN THE TEAM
Gus Greensmith (2nd WRC 2 Pro) said:
“Friday didn’t start too brilliantly. Everyone was talking about how challenging the conditions were going to be and I started way too cautiously and lost a lot of time. After that we were matching Mads and I was quite happy with that and looking forward to having a bit more of a push in the afternoon. But we picked up a puncture and then a rock in the line shattered the suspension. It was unlucky, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.
“We came back yesterday and things kept getting better from there. Driving fast seemed to take a lot less effort this weekend and I am really pleased with that. I worked really hard with my coach and my engineer before the rally – just focusing on how to drive more efficiently, and it made a big difference. It would just have been nice to have had a bit more luck and to have been challenging for the win.”
Alberto Heller (4th WRC 2) said:
“We were leading on Friday but we had a lot of bad luck after that. A broken auxiliary belt meant that we had to retire, but we came back on Saturday with some good speed and some fastest times. Then on the first stage this morning we had a problem with the suspension which we had to carry through all of the stages. It’s a part of the game and part of my learning, and now I’m really motivated for the next event on home soil in Chile.”