[Maarten]

één en al lof van wilson voor duval

bron wrc.com

Ford boss Wilson lauds Duval

Germany - Ford - 22/08/2004 13:42:47



Malcolm Wilson, the boss of the works Ford team, believes his young protege Francois Duval is on the verge of his first WRC victory, following an impressive second place on this weekend's OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

The Belgian drove well throughout the rain-hit event, climbing to second ahead of Citroen's Carlos Sainz late at the end of Saturday's second leg after suffering from the lack of a handbrake on the opening day, before proceeding to take chunks out of Sebastien Loeb's lead over today's final stages.

"Francois was fantastic," said Wilson. "He and [co-driver] Stephane [Prevot]were the fastest crew here this weekend and this was his best drive to date. He was the only driver to challenge Loeb, and I believe his first WRC win is not far away."

Duval was also exultant about what he considered to be the best performance of his career so far, having beaten several more experience drivers in the treacherous conditions that dominated the first two legs of the event.

"I've really enjoyed the weekend because the weather and roads were so similar to rallies at home in Belgium," he said. "The conditions were very difficult, but I've learned a lot and made big progress here. I pushed hard today and really believe I could have won if it had not been for our time loss on Friday. The roads here are unlike anything else in the championship and we've had rain, fog, mud and even a little sunshine. It's been a tough challenge and second is a superb result for me and the team."

Ford team-mate Markko Martin had a difficult event following poor tyre-selection on the opening leg, but recovered well to finish fourth. The result elevates the Estonian to second in the overall drivers' championship, and he admitted that he was relieved to claim the points after a difficult rally.

"Today was okay, but the roads were tricky and our emphasis was on surviving," he said. "Many corners were quite muddy and damp under the trees and I pushed just enough to keep ahead of Robert. There was no point in taking risks. It hasn't been a particularly enjoyable weekend because conditions have been so hard, and I'm glad just to see the finish. To move into second in the championship is good but the gap between ourselves and Sebastien has increased, so that's less good."