Far og sønn Peter Van Merksteijn fra Nederland kjørte Rally Norway nå i helgen. Faren i en Ford Focus WRC07 og sønnen i en Ford Focus WRC06 har fått mersmak av norsk vinterrally og ønsker å gjenta deltagelsen hvis Rally Norway blir tildelt ny WRC-runde senere.
On the closing day of the first rally of the season for Van Merksteijn Motorsport, the WRC Rally Norway, Peter van Merksteijn junior managed to win one more place and passed on Sunday afternoon in 19th position over the podium next to the Vikingship in Hamar. His father Peter van Merksteijn and co-driver Erwin Mombaerts climbed three places on the last day and finished the winter rally in 21st place.
Ford Focus WRC 07, number 23, Peter van Merksteijn - Erwin Mombaerts
For Peter van Merksteijn it was the First time that he drove together with his Belgian co-driver Erwin Mombaerts in the Ford Focus WRC 07 which proved to be a very good combination. "You always have to get accustomed to each other when you drive with a new co-driver but we it was a good match between the both of us" according to Peter. Peter started the day driving with care to bring the Focus WRC to the finish and not to lose extra places after the time loss of Saturday. On the third stage of the morning the situation was reversed when Peter had to stop on stage as his son Peter jnr. blocked the road after a spin and I was stuck driving closely behind him to the finish. "We couldn't see a thing because of the snow dust from Junior's car so I had to back off a bit to have some visibility". On the final three stages of the rally the team with number 23 didn't have any problems. "After leaving stage 21 we had a minor accident on the road section which damaged the front of the Focus WRC and were not sure if the bonnet securing pins would hold so I had to be careful but in hind sight that was not necessary. We had a great day and with a 15th time on the final stage it has been a fantastic event for us" said Peter van Merksteijn afterwards back in the service park.
Ford Focus WRC 06, number 22, Peter van Merksteijn junior - Eddy Chevaillier
Peter van Merksteijn junior and his regular co-driver Eddy Chevaillier had another great day and enjoyed themselves very much during their first proper snow rally ever. "What is this a great rally, beautiful scenery and the weather was just perfect. It is great fun to drive in the snow, at times the snow covered forest stages are very fast and it is so much fun to drive sideways in the corners" Peter junior told afterwards. On the third stage of the day Peter junior spun on a very slippery and narrow section and it took some time to point the Focus in the right direction again. "When we were back on track dad was right behind me, just like I had to drive behind him yesterday." During the final three stages of the rally Peter jnr. had a good drive and with all times within the top 15 he managed to move one position up in the leader board. "This afternoon we didn't make a single mistake and we had a great run through the stages. It is great fun to drive with the Focus WRC in this rally. A great car and we had great fun in the car. I want to drive here again next time as this has been super".
Van Merksteijn Motorsport looks back with great enjoyment to their first participation in the WRC Rally Norway which featured cold temperatures of up to -30 degrees and lots of snow. With a 19th and 21st position for son and father Van Merksteijn in their first snow event in the forests around Hamar, the team is satisfied with the results achieved. "This is a great event and driving on snow is fantastic. We will do this again sometime in the future" according to Peter van Merksteijn junior.
Kilde: vm-motorsport.nl