Jussi Välimäki takes opening round victory in China
The opening round of the Chinese Rally Championship was held in the region of Nanking Jiangning. Two intense days of competition included 11 special stages of hard action, dominated by Flying Finn Jussi Välimäki and his co-driver Marko Sallinen with the HongyunHonghe rally team's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX rally.
The Finns took fastest times on seven of the eleven special stages which were held in the very hot conditions. The 2005 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship winner and 2007 Finnish Rally Champion was 36,3 seconds in front of second placed David Higgins and 48,9 seconds ahead than Juha Salo who suffered medical issues during the rally.
Winner Valimaki commented on his website:
This was a perfect start to the Championship which includes five events. My only goal in the series is to secure the Championship title for highly known and appreciated HongyunHonghe rally team. At the end of final stage I pushed and showed what I'm made of.
On Sunday I drove without any risks and secured the victory. However after Sundays' second stage my heart nearly stopped because on the road section section two spark plugs in the engine started to malfunction. Eventually I was able to crawl back to the service park where the HongyunHonghe team mechanics fixed the problem.
Välimäki's HongyunHonghe rally team are leading the CRC series with another four events to be held.
The next round for Chinese Rally Championship series is in July, taking place in the region of Peking Huairou.
Final results Nanjing Jiangning rally
1. Jussi Välimäki & Marko Sallinen, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, 2:01:12,3
2. David Higgins & Thomas Ieuan, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, +36,3sec
3. Juha Salo & Mika Stenberg, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, +48,9sec
Souce: jussivalimaki.com
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