The event organisers had invited Heikkilä to compete in Rallye Ciudad de Granada for the third time. The Finnish driver won the race last year, and this time the result was the same – though he needed help from WRC star Thierry Neuville.
Hyundai’s Neuville used Rally Ciudad de Granada as a test event ahead of the Rally Chile, which is scheduled for next week. As expected, Neuville was the fastest on every stage of the rally, but he decided to withdraw from the race before the finish. Neuville did not take his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 to the parc fermé at the end of the event, thus handing the victory to Heikkilä.
It was a classy gesture from the Belgian, as he had a significantly superior car compared to the other drivers in the race. This way, the top spot went to the fastest driver in a Rally2 car.
Heikkilä drove a Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo in the gravel race. He beat Latvian hopeful Martins Sesks by 12.5 seconds. Sesks, who has showcased his skills twice in the main WRC class this season, competed in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Heikkilä and Sesks were in a league of their own compared to the local drivers. Spanish driver Xavi Vidales, who finished third, was nearly three and a half minutes behind the winner.
“It was a nice trip, and it was great to be invited again by the organisers. The support from the team and the audience was amazing, so no complaints here. It was fun to have Martins Sesks competing as well, and the level was high – we had a proper race,” Heikkilä said.
Heikkilä’s flight to Spain landed on Thursday, just a day before the shakedown, leaving him no time for testing. However, the car’s setup from previous years came back to him quickly, allowing the Finnish ace to get up to speed in no time.
“The car’s setup came pretty much from memory, as we used the same model in both the Finnish and European championships. I sent the team my setup requests a week before the event, and they worked well. I didn’t need to drive more than a few hundred metres in the shakedown before everything felt familiar again,” Heikkilä recounted.
A unique feature of the weekend was a spectator stage held in the city centre, which was not part of the actual competition. Heikkilä, showcasing his driving skills in front of a large crowd, relished the opportunity to give the audience an unforgettable show.
“The spectator stage was great since it wasn’t timed, it was purely for show. We made a rough pace note first to know where to drive, but the actual run was all about having fun. There were thousands of spectators, and we spun the car around and burned some rubber – it was absolutely fantastic.”
“The local organisers know how to put on a show. A big thank you to them for the invitation,” Heikkilä expressed his gratitude.
