M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm brought their NGK-equipped Ford Fiesta WRC home in fourth place at this weekend’s ACI Rally Monza – equalling their best result of the season.
Just as Teemu Suninen did last time out at Rally Italia Sardegna, Lappi proved that the EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRCs, which are fitted with NGK spark plugs and NTK Lambda sensors, still has the pace to fight for the top results – leading the rally through the early stages and challenging for the win on the final, action-packed event of the year.
The Finn was battling at the sharp end before luck played its hand and a series of small mistakes saw him fall from the fight at the front.
Unable to make the most of his superior tyre choice through the snow-covered mountain stages, and taking the wrong compound for Sunday morning’s opener, the podium positions slipped out of his grasp; but the Finn should remain proud of his performance this weekend.
Esapekka Lappi said: “This was a good weekend for us and we can be pleased with our performance. It was good to be back on Tarmac, and good to see that we can be competitive in these tricky conditions.
“Things didn’t always go our way and we were quite unlucky at times, but I was very happy with my driving and we proved that we can be up there fighting at the top.
“A big thanks to everyone who has supported us throughout the year, and to the FIA, WRC Promotor and event organisers for ensuring we could finish the season and continue rallying in these difficult times.”
Mark Hallam, marketing manager, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, said: “It was a great way for the team to finish the season and bodes well for another successful WRC campaign next year.”