Marc Coma took a podium finish in the Sardinia Rally today, allowing him to take the world title in the Cross Country Rally discipline for the fifth time. Coma previously won in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. Following his victory at the opening two rounds of the season in Abu Dhabi and Qatar, Coma only needed to place third in order to lift the title. Teammate Joan Pedrero finished a positive ninth in the rally.
The final stage of the Sardinia Rally consisted of two special stages just 34 and 44km in duration, but was a tough test for the MRW riders. Coma experienced a brake problem which compromised his race position, as he opted to ride cautiously with the aim of the title his main focus. Teammate Joan Pedrero had further difficulties navigating the Sardinia course and dropped two places in the standings, although still finishing ninth overall.
Marc Coma: "The day didn’t have a great start. I had a problem on the ninth kilometer of the first special stage and the brake broke. From that moment on I opted to try and secure the position in the standings. In the end we lost out on second, but the important thing today was the title. You don’t win something like this every day and being World Champion means a lot to me. There are a lot of people behind this, and the end result is no coincidence. I want to thank everybody who works alongside me for this result, because it wouldn’t be possible without them".