Second podium finish of season for Barritt

Daniel Barritt secured third place at the weekend's RallyRACC Catalunya '“ Rally de España alongside Elfyn Evans.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Nov 2018, 11:00 BST

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC secured a double podium, with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia missing out on victory by a mere 2.9 seconds, while Evans and Barritt secured third place by a tantalising 0.5 seconds.

The result also sees five-time World Champions Ogier and Ingrassia retake the lead of the FIA World Rally Championship for both Drivers and Co-Drivers.

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Evans and Barritt were determined to bring home the silverware, and did so by securing their second podium of the year.

The British pairing were fighting at the sharp end on both gravel and asphalt, and were part of an intense six-way battle for the win going into the final day of competition.

Embarking on the final four stages, Evans and Barritt were just 1.8 seconds adrift of the podium, and proved themselves great team players once again – taking the final podium place from Ogier’s main championship rival by just 0.5 seconds through the Power Stage!

Evans said: “We came here to secure a good result and that’s what we got. The speed has been up there for the past few rallies now, but for various reasons we’ve come away empty handed. It’s good to finally see that speed rewarded and to show that we had the pace on both surfaces here in Spain.”

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Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said: “It’s been a great weekend for the team with another double podium for the Fiesta and Sébastien and Julien retaking the lead of the championship. This one really is going down to the wire, and we’re going to see a thrilling finale in Australia.

“The conditions were really challenging, but Sébastien and Julien held their own – overcoming the disadvantage of their road position on gravel and pushing to the maximum when the action turned to Tarmac.

“We didn’t get the tyre choices 100 percent right this weekend, but they pushed hard regardless and were rewarded with another great result.

“Elfyn too delivered a really strong performance. He and Dan were competitive on all surfaces and were challenging right at the sharp end – taking a well-deserved podium at the end of the rally which was just what he and the team needed.”