A solid day for Reeves & Gelsomino as they built on Friday success cementing a position on the DMACK podium. Faultless driving despite unexpected issues…

By Sam Tickell, photo: @World, DMACK

It was day two at RACC Rallye Espania and saw a change from dirt to tarmac for the competitors. Switching from dirt to tarmac spec for the cars is a huge job for the crews and that is particularly true for the DMACK Fiesta Trophy drivers.

This is true for the RacerViews supported team of Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino’s job was also complicated when Rhiannon picked up a stomach bug on Friday night. The duo marched on though, not letting these issues get the better of them, with the aim to consolidate third in class.

The day with the eight stages starting with the 7.43 km test of Porrera, with the crews winding the way through the North Western Spanish region, taking in the 26.26 km La Figuera, 10.6 km of Poboleda, 19.8 km of Capafots and a short 2.2 km sprint around Salou.

At the end of day one Reeves and Gelsomino brought the fight to Tom Cave for second and Saturday morning started well taking second place in the first stage of the day.

Through the morning loop team was learning the limits of the DMACK Tyres and perhaps were a little conservative with plenty of life left in the tyres as they entered the midday service.

It also didn’t help as the car wasn’t tracking properly with a rear beam problem that was taken care of in service. The team also looked to cope with some understeer the changes made in service sent the the other away. A final problem for the team would appear in SS16 with soft brakes hurting their effort.

It was a solid morning for the cruise a great learning experience as Brendan reveals exclusively for RacerViews.

Throughout the morning the team had dropped off the pace of front runners Tom Cave and Marius Aasen but were running a solid third place with several minutes in hand over the other competitors.

Finishing in third place is now a key concern for Reeves and Gelsonimo as they look to qualify for the ‘Vatanen Touch’, a Fiesta shootout where the winner has the opportunity to drive a Fiesta R5 at a World Rally Championship event in 2016.

It would be a deserving prize for the duo as they have worked so hard to make it to this rally. Their supporter base is clear with so many jumping on board to help.

Building on this, one only has to look at the skill and precision that the team have bought to this rally after such a period away. The car has been driven immaculately without any damage and setting the pace with the fall season DMACK entries.

And on day ending stage around Solou required a lot of a precision, a lot of handbrake work Reeves on it, having fun and selling a great time.

Overall, considering the challenges it was a very successful day for Reeves and Gelsomino.

At the end of the day Reeves said “I was lots of fun. [We are] happy with how the day went. We made some improvements and then went backwards but then we ended up with a good setup that we can take into tomorrow.

“We are comfortably in third now but the gap to second has drifted away.”

The final day, on Sunday will see six the tarmac stages totalling 76.4 km. It could provide a sting in the tail for many of the crews and we will be excited to see our very own Reeves and Gelsomino get on.

Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino Saturday Stages
SS10    Porrera – 7.43 km
6:17.9     (2nd in class)

SS11    La Figuera 1 –    26.26 km
17:44.6     (4th in class)

SS12    Poboleda 1 –    10.63 km
6:49.0    (4th in class)

SS13    Capafonts 1 –    19.80 km
12:55.4     (3rd in class)

SS14    La Figuera 2 –    26.26 km
17:35.1     (5th in class)

SS15    Poboleda 2 –    10.63 km
6:50.7    (4th in class)

SS16    Capafonts 2 –    19.80 km
12:55.5     (4th in class)

SS17    Salou –    2.24 km
2:59.9    (3rd in class)

Classification after SS17
1. Marius Aasen / Veronica Engan 3hr 01min 16.2sec
2. Tom Cave / Craig Parry 3hr 01min 14.0sec
3. Brendan Reeves / Rhianon Gelsomino 3hr 02min 46.8sec
4. Kevin van Deijne / Hein Verschuuren 3hr 14min 16.0sec
5. Max Vatanen / Jacques-Julien Renucci 3hr 21min 08.0sec
6. Edoardo Bresolin / Rudy Pollet 3hr 32min 12.4sec
7. Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmondson 3hr 37min 15.7sec
8. Guillaume de Mevius / Geoffrey Brion 3hr 58min 43.8sec

—

RacerViews was established in 2011 and with the aim of delivering a new web experience to motorsport fans. We bring you more than just the news.  Our exclusive interview and galleries brings you the views from the track, from the racers. Our extensive race review collection allows you to keep up with the action from around the world. Our team of passionate pros have decades of experience in the motorsport field. Our social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes  bring you more, a holistic experience.  We have more than 3100 followers on Twitter and more than 1.5million views on Google Plus.  Our mission is to bring exclusive content is in safe hands. Over the time we have partnered with motorsport teams likeAndreas Wirth, Stig Richards Motorsport, One of a Kind Motorsport, Dark Horse Racing and MRT Performance in order to give you the best exclusive motorsport coverage.

We are always looking for new people to join our team and we are always looking to publish stories, photos and audio in world-class publications around the world. If this interests you contact us