Vinyes goes on attack to win IRC 2WD Cup

Joan Vinyes has revealed his attacking approach was crucial to his success in the IRC 2WD Cup on Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés yesterday, Saturday.

The Andorra-based driver dominated the two-wheel-drive division in his Suzuki Swift Super 1600, heading team-mate Gorka Antxustegi by a margin of 1m32.9s.

Vinyes, who learned his trade competing on hillclimb events against his mother and father, was also chasing Spanish championship points on the asphalt rally.

“I had to go fast because in the Spanish championship I am competing against Super 2000 cars and we must attack,” said Vinyes, who was co-driven by Jordi Mercader. “We are very happy because not only do we win two-wheel drive in the IRC, but also in the Spanish championship, which was our objective. It was a difficult rally but the car was perfect and the team was perfect.”

Civic Type R driver Angel Marrero finished third overall to claim top IRC 2WD Cup manufacturer points for Honda, which moves to within four points of Peugeot in the standings.

Defending IRC 2WD Cup champion Harry Hunt recovered to sixth after being delayed by a fuel pump fault and a puncture on day one of the event. He finished one place ahead of former IRC drivers’ champion Enrique Garcia Ojeda in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2.

“I covered a lot of kilometres in a short space of time so I’ve learned a lot,” said Briton Hunt. “Friday was a bit disappointing but it’s getting better and better and the last stage of the rally was the closest I’ve been yet. The next round is in Corsica and I’m going to go flat out.”