MacCrone sixth in Acropolisposted in WRC25 | 05 | 2012
SCOTS RALLY ACE John MacCrone survived the longest day of the Acropolis Rally to lie sixth, ahead of tomorrow's final four stages, in the World Rally Championship Academy.
And the 22-year-old from the Isle of Mull, could have been pushing for a podium place had he not lost time after his Ford Fiesta R2 suffered a puncture, 11km into the 19km stage at Elikonas.
"We'd been looking to consolidate fifth position, then push on in the afternoon stages," MacCrone said today when he returned to rally HQ at Loutraki.
"But we got the puncture and that pitched us into a bank, which tore the rubber off the wheel rim.
"We struggled to get the car to the end of the stage, but somehow we managed. It cost us around 30secs, but if we'd stopped to change the wheel, we'd easily have dropped two or three minutes.
"But the guys managed to fit new tyres and repair the damage at service, and we were able to post good, competitive times in the afternoon."
And MacCrone, backed by Palletforce and Tunnocks, and co-driven by Glasgow's Stuart Loudon, admitted he was finding it slightly warmer then Mull, even during this Scottish heatwave.
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"I know the guys back at home have been having a bit of sun, but today it's been 38 degrees outside," he continued.
"With our fire-retardent suits, plus our racesuits, plus the heat from the engine, I hate to think what the temperature was like in the cabin."
Welshman Elfyn Evans leads the event, holding a slender 29.5secs lead over Irishman Alasdair Fisher. MacCrone is just 14.3s away from fifth place.
Contesting the official feeder series to the World Rally Championship, the Scot starts tomorrow's final four stages — acknowledged as being the event's toughest — eyeing his best result of the season.
"A top five would be fantastic," he admitted. "The guys ahead of us all have vastly more experience than us, so it'll be a great result if we can achieve it.
"The top three or four are tightly bunched together, and they're really going for it, so there's always the possibility at least one of them will have problems.
"The final four stages are the toughest and roughest of the rally, so anything can happen.
"I think our approach will be to get the car to the finish and bank a load of WRC Academy points. Then it'll be straight for a cold shower!"
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Jim McGill
CAPTION: John MacCrone and co-driver Stuart Loudon in their Palletforce and Tunnocks-backed Ford Fiesta R2.