|
Peter Rolfsen and co-driver Anders Kjær took the class victory on the opening round of the Norwegian Championship at the Mountain Rally in Gol last week.
In a class that seems to be even more competitive than it was in 2011, and with limited preparation before the event, the PRMotorsport team secured victory with an almost flawless rally.
In past years, Rolfsen had lost time on the short SS1. Again, the Norwegian felt that he could have performed better on the first stage, but did not lose as much time to his competitors as in previous years.
The most difficult of all the stages, SS2 started with a tricky uphill. Again, Rolfsen’s skill behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta R2 saw him lose much less time than his competitors.
”We had very good flow into the first leg, but were slightly hindered by one of the cars in front which had stopped on stage and caught us by surprise,” said Rolfsen. “Fortunately, we made it through and actually set a really good time to secure a lead of 6 seconds.”
With expert guidance from co-driver Kjær, Rolfsen continued to run at a fast pace through the legendary Gol-stage (Ss2). SS3 also proved fruitful for the Norwegian with an excellent time through the Rivermouth hotel section.
His Fiesta working well, it was just a routine check for the PRMotorsport team in mid-day service with new Michelin tyres ready for the rally’s longest stage, Ridal (26km). The most crucial stage of the entire event, SS4 (Ridal) started with a winding section of uphill followed by a very fast downhill. Again, Rolfsen impressed with a competitive time.
”We set a good time on the uphill section,” said the Norwegian. “But midway through the speed test we noticed that the car was under-steering which made it difficult during the long corners at the top of the hill.
“I decided anyway to let it rip down the slopes to limit the loss of time. Speed tests have never been my favourite, but this year we will turn this too our advantage too!
”It went very well at the end of the test and we were excited to hear the times to the other competitors. It turned out that we had done another very good time.
”We were 1 second behind Petter Kristiansen in the Skoda Fabia R2, who won the test, and we were 1 second ahead of Frank Tore Larsen and Steve Røkland in similar Fiesta R2s.”
A re-run of SS2, SS5 was another good stage for the PRMotorsport team. Petter Kristiansen had a slightly poor start which saw Rolfsen take a 6.5 second advantage.
”We did very well up in the mountain. We passed the finish line on SS5 without having made big mistakes and we attacked all the way.
Prior to the final stage Rolfsen had a 12.5 second lead over the second placed man. With only 9 km remaining, the Norwegian drove a quick yet mature stage to take the victory.
After 6 years without a championship victory, Rolfsen could once again rejoice in the Mountain Rally with a 17 second advantage over his nearest competitor. Elsewhere, only 2.7 seconds separated second to fourth places.
Ninth place overall was also the Norwegian’s best overall placement in a championship race ever!
“I have to thank Anders [Kjær] who not only delivered notes perfectly throughout the day, but also gave great advice discussing changes to the setup of the car.”
The next round of the championship is Rally Elverum on 28 January where PRMotorsport will aim to be even faster than before. |
