Having been made for his PWRC class victory - and a little bit of history - after the recent Rally of Turkey, Andreas Aigner and the
Red Bull Rally Team can finally celebrate a rare hat-trick of successes.
Achieving the feat matched only once before, by Japanese driver Toshi Arai in 2003, Aigner thought he had opened a handy 16-point lead in the championship, but his Turkish event was, to borrow a phrase from the concurrent European football championships, sent into an unscheduled period of extra time as his car was targeted by
FIA technicians for a post-rally inspection.
Although the special session sparked some wild rumours, they were quickly dismissed as the FIA representatives dismantled the distinctively-liveried Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, conducted an exhaustive inspection and found nothing at all out of the ordinary.
“I never thought for a second that something was up with the car," team boss Raimund Baumschlager commented, "I am pleased, however, that the inspection took place. We would never knowingly use non-homologated parts to give ourselves an advantage. The FIA should continue to rigidly enforce these inspections so that the sport remains honest.”
Aigner, too, was relieved at the outcome.
“I was also expecting no other result," he insisted, "Routine inspections are really important in my view, as only a driver's performance and the endurance of a car should be decisive.”
Aigner has now taken in four of his six nominated events this year and, with his two 'drop scores' to come in Finland and Japan, knows that Jari Ketomaa and Juho Hanninen still have a chance to cut his lead in Jyvaskyla when he will be powerless to prevent the damage from occurring.
"Sure, three wins in a row is an incredible feeling because it doesn't happen too often but, for me, it's the championship that continues to remain of paramount importance," he noted, "We're now enjoying a sound lead, but you mustn't forget that I have done one more rally than my strongest competitor, Ketomaa, and two more than Hanninen. But these two have now been put on the spot."
