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Random Series Recap #2 - S48 W4 - World Rally Series

12.09.2022 -
Introduction
Competing in World Rally Series is an obvious dream for all the drivers who started their career in rallying. Since its inception in Season 42 WRS is home for the fastest drivers unfazed by difficult terrains, trees and rocks close to the roadside as well as everchanging weather conditions. So far this series is absolutely dominated by two legends - Wynn Hunter from UK and Visvaldis Ceļš from Latvia. They split all of the titles (first 4 for Hunter, last 2 for Ceļš) and their domination is even more evident when looking at single races - only 3 out of 84 were won by any other driver. This year drivers compete in 14 races span across 3 continents with each race consisting of 16 stages divided into 4-day competition.

In the past
First four races of season went pretty unsurprising - Ceļš won 3 of them, while Hunter snatched one win on frozen roads of Sweden. Last place on podium belonged to only one other driver - 26-year old Pankrác Zatáčka.

This week's races
There isn't much rest for drivers competing in WRS. From Monday to Thursday they had to compete on the asphalt roads of Belgium. However this was not the end of this week struggles, as after just one day of rest they showed up on Saturday at the start of Rally Acropolis.

Rally Belgium - day 1
38 kilometres of road awaited for the drivers on the first day of the race. Hunter started strong, winning stage 1, however Ceļš and Zatáčka finished no further than one second behind him. Final three stages were a show of skill by Ceļš, who won them without making even smallest of errors and thanks to this finished the day in first place.
Final Results

Rally Belgium - day 2
On paper, day 2 looked like the most important test for drivers with over 60 km of racing, especially long stage 7 and even a quick visit in neighbouring France. Ceļš and Hunter shared stage victories with 2 for each of them. Differences between them were really narrow, but Ceļš managed to end the day with 2 seconds overall lead. Zatáčka stayed close, but couldn't gain time on any of the stages finishing the day 8 seconds behind the leader.
Final Results

Rally Belgium - day 3
9th stage of the race brought 9th predictable result - Ceļš, Hunter and Zatáčka within one second and pretty far in front of other drivers. Probably only because of surprising weather change, stage 10 didn't end in similar fashion. Sudden rainstorm came over West Flanders and shook the standings for this stage. Mateus Marçal found the best pace in this conditions becoming a winner with Chloé de Saint-Germain second. Their ability to drive in the rain couldn't be tested in any of the later stages, as the clouds quickly went away. With the clear sky it was also very clear who will be at the top of stages 11 and 12 with Ceļš, Hunter and Zatáčka coming back at the top.
Final Results

Rally Belgium - day 4
Final day of the race belonged to Ceļš, who won all four stages. It ensured him first place in whole race, with Hunter second and Zatáčka third. Jan Zhuk finished 4th, minute behind the leader, with the rest of the pack few minutes behind him.
Final Results

Rally Acropolis - day 1
After just a single day of rest and travel drivers took a monumental task which was day 1 of Rally Acropolis. Complete change of surface, with only gravel roads ahead and more than 100 km of racing were a difficult test for drivers, cars and mechanics. There was no place for lucky results and it showed at the end of the day, with Ceļš opening 10 seconds gap on Hunter and 20 seconds on Zatáčka.
Final Results

Rally Acropolis - day 2
With about 75 km of racing day 2 looked only a bit easier than day 1. Wynn Hunter showed that the race isn't over yet by winning 3 of the 4 stages and cutting Ceļš' lead back to 8 seconds. Both of them widened the gap to Zatáčka, who comfortably sits on the third place, minute ahead of fourth Zhuk. Insane difficulty of Greek roads already showed at the back of the table with two drivers retired just after half of the race.
Final Results

What's next?
With two days of racing to go, only mechanical issues can take the Acropolis rally podium away from the usual suspects representing Latvia, UK and Czechia. For the next 200km of dirt roads Wynn Hunter will try his best to surpass Visvaldis Ceļš and grab the second win this season. After that there are still 8 more races in calendar, so while Ceļš is for now a frontrunner in whole series, British driver will have lots of opportunities to make a rise in standings.
While many fans may find World Rally Series boring with clear favorites for top places, it is also a sign of how much has to be sacrificed in order to reach the top and how few people are really able to do it.
Final Results