NGK helps Suninen achieve best-ever WRC result
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver Teemu Suninen secured his best-ever result at the Rally Italia Sardegna – taking his NGK-equipped EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC to second place.
It was the perfect debut for a new partnership which paired Suninen’s youth, speed and ambition with Jarmo Lehtinen’s knowledge, experience, and continued desire to succeed. The result also marked Suninen’s second FIA World Rally Championship podium, and Lehtinen’s 70th.
Showcasing their pace with three fastest times on Friday, the pairing also demonstrated consistency and set the second or third fastest times on all of Saturday’s stages in the Fiesta which is fitted with NGK spark plugs and NTK Lambda sensors.
Instructed to bring the car safely home, the young Finn resisted the urge to push for second through the closing stages – but still managed to reduce the gap from 17 to 13.7 seconds. Then, third place became a career-best second when rally-leader Ott Tänak fell to fifth.
M-Sport team-mates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin collected another strong haul of points to consolidate their fourth place in the championship.
The British pairing had been part of a Fiesta one-two through the early stages but fell adrift of the podium when the second pass of Castelsardo was cancelled for the cars behind – giving their rivals the benefit of fresher tyres, and a better road position the following day.
Locked in a battle for fourth place, which became a battle for third given the late drama, the Welshman missed out by less than a second. But despite forgoing a double podium for the Fiesta, he strengthens his championship position going into the summer break.
Mark Hallam, Marketing Manager, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, said: “It was a tremendous performance by the M-Sport team. It was fantastic for Teemu to achieve his best-ever result and Elfyn was unlucky not to make it a double-podium success.”