RECORD-BREAKING SIXTH POSITION FOR DENNIS KUIPERS

STOP PRESS: Make that 5th!

FERM World Rally Team News Release

Dennis Kuipers has made history after finishing sixth at Rallye de France Alsace in the Ford Fiesta RS WRC. It is the best performance of a Dutch driver ever in the FIA World Rally Championship.

“I’m really excited with this result”, says the driver of the FERM Power Tools World Rally Team. “In Germany we were already very fast, but to finish sixth here is beyond my wildest dreams.  We have also just been awarded the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award which is the icing on the cake!”

Together with his Belgian co-driver Frederic Miclotte the Dutch driver set a second fastest time on Stage 18 - the best ever stage time for a Dutch driver. In this early stage on Sunday morning the FERM driver pushed forward to leave the competition behind.

“We worked hard this year to improve our skills and today’s result shows that we have made good progress”, says Miclotte. “This is without a doubt our best rally so far. But of course we still need to continue to improve.”

“This sixth position is a real team effort”, concludes Kuipers. Kuipers has secured himself eight drivers’ points after this weekend’s stunning performance and the FERM World Rally Team have secured ten extra points in the Manufacturers’ Championship.

Team Manager Malcolm Wilson said:
“Dennis and Fred’s fantastic result at Rallye de France is very well deserved.  The pair have worked extremely hard this year and their pace this weekend has been reflected in their continued effort over the course of the season.  It is also great to see Dennis awarded with the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award in France – it is a prize which is presented to those who have made an outstanding contribution or achievement for each rally and I think it is very apt that Dennis is presented with the prestigious award for this event.”

UPDATE - REVISED RALLYE DE FRANCE ALSACE RESULTS

Petter Solberg was excluded from the results at Rallye de France after his car was found to be breach of the technical regulations. The Norwegian driver’s exclusion has now meant that the Ford Fiesta RS WRC crews of Dennis Kuipers, Mads Østberg, Henning Solberg, Matthew Wilson and Evgeny Novikov have each moved up one position.

Solberg finished third in France but post-event scrutineering found his car to be in breach of the rules after it was underweight. Following a hearing, the event stewards have excluded Solberg from the results.

This now means that FERM Power Tools World Rally Team driver Dennis Kuipers has been promoted to fifth.

M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team’s Henning Solberg and Mads Østberg are now sixth and seventh respectively.  Matthew Wilson moves up to tenth and Evgeny Novikov moves into 23rd.

The new results are as below: