Molly Taylor has secured the inaugural European Rally Championship Ladies’ Trophy with a second place finish in the division at the Croatia Rally.
After season-long battle, rival Ekaterina Stratieva was unable to score the maximum points she needed to keep the title battle alive into the next round in Italy.
“We’re very, very happy. It was our goal coming into the season to win the ERC Ladies’ Trophy,” said Taylor.
“We’ve had some difficult events where we haven’t been able to compete as we’d like in order to try and secure this championship so it’s very satisfying and a bit of a relief to have sewn it up with still more rallies to go so I’m now looking forward to moving on to the next event.”
On a tough event for Taylor, the Australian brought her United Business Citroen DS3 R3T some despite battling a fuel leak which filled the cabin with vapours on the opening day and then a minor crash on Leg 2. That along with a faulty fuel pump on the opening stage and turbo issues on the final morning of the event couldn’t stop Taylor and English co–driver Seb Marshall.
“Everything you wouldn’t expect to happen did happen. But in between the problems we’ve had some good stage times and we’ve appreciated and savoured every moment. It’s been an epic weekend. There were times where we could push on and it’s a big relief to get to the finish. Happy Days.”
Taylor finished the event fifth in the 2WD class, just one place ahead of team-mate and fellow Australian Adrian Coppin.
The Australian is now looking ahead to an ERC 2WD Championship assault in 2014. “That would be fantastic,” she said. “We’ve learned so much this year. Really it’s the most consistent amount of events we’ve ever had in a row with the opportunity to stay fresh in the car and learn a lot of new events.
“For sure we know where we can improve and where we’re good. We’ve a lot to improve but to focus on the ERC 2WD Championship next year would be fantastic.”
Czech driver Jan Kopecký won the Croatia Rally overall and wrapped-up the outright ERC title in the process.
