Teemu Suninen has crashed out of Rally Chile BioBio. Find out more about his crash and what it means for Suninen below.
Oh No
Teemu Suninen was on pace to finish second overall at Rally Chile BioBio. It was also set to be his best event in a Rally1 car. Unfortunately, just 7 km into SS15 Suninen went off the road. His rally was ended as a result of the crash. Suninen joins teammate Esapekka Lappi and M-Sport driver Pierre-Louis Loubet as the only drivers to crash out of Rally Chile BioBio in the Rally1 class. Suninen’s crash out didn’t involve as many rolls as Lappi or Loubet’s outs, however.
What Suninen Being Out Means
With Teemu Suninen out it promotes Thierry Neuville to second place, 44.6 seconds behind Ott Tänak heading into the Powerstage. It was suspected Neuville wouldn’t get a team order for Suninen to move over so Neuville could take the much-needed championship points. However, even if that order was issued it has no effect now as Suninen is out and Neuville is in second. With nearly 45 seconds separating Neuville from Elfyn Evans who sits third, second is Neuville’s spot to lose at this point.
There is also an upside for Kalle Rovanperä in all of this. As now the reigning drivers champion sits fourth overall heading into the final stage. Meaning now Rovanperä will take home fourth place points as opposed to fifth from the event. This still isn’t the result Rovanperä was hoping for however, as he had an outside chance of winning his second drivers championship on his birthday (today).
Gearing Up For The Powerstage
The final stage of Rally Chile BioBio is set to get underway shortly. The Powerstage will start up in just under an hour’s time from this article being posted. Will Ott Tänak hold on to take his second win of the season? Who will win the coveted 5 bonus Powerstage points? All of that will be answered soon enough.