The leader of Finnish championship Eerik Pietarinen adds to R5 class in Shell Helix Rally Estonia The leader of Finnish championship Eerik Pietarinen adds to R5 class in Shell Helix Rally Estonia
One more strong and promising young Finnish driver will be starting in the biggest autosport event in the Baltics, Shell Helix Rally Estonia held 13-15 July. Eerik Pietarinen and Juhana Raitanen have been ruling the Finnish Championship and are the leaders in class SM1 after the fifth round. As Aron Domzala from Poland they will also be driving Skoda Fabia R5 by ex-WRC driver Toni Gardemeister’s team TGS Worldwide.
Pietarinen and Raitanen are 2017 Finnish champions in SM2 class. They are one of the main favorites for the R5 class win in Shell Helix Rally Estonia. Participating in such a fast rally is good for them as they will do a debut with R5 car in this year’s Rally Finland.
Eerik Pietarinen: „Rally Estonia is a very important event for us as it is a very fast rally. We use this as a preparation for Rally Finland and I’m sure we will find good pace in Estonia. Also the competition is very strong, many good drivers with R5 cars and it is good to compete with top WRC cars. Our aim is to be in top of the R5 class.“
Urmo Aava: „Eerik and Juhana are definitely bringing more competition to R5 class. It is good to see them fighting with Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo from Hyundai Motorsport. In addition, we have fast drivers in this class coming also from the Baltics and Poland.”
Shell Helix Rally Estonia entry list tops with three crews from WRC series: Ott Tänak-Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC), Hayden Paddon-Seb Marshall (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) and Craig Breen-Scott Martin (Citroen C3 WRC).
The official opening and award ceremony will take place in Tartu, the second biggest city in Estonia. Tartu is an entertainment centre of Shell Helix Rally Estonia and the main artist of the official concert is Russian superstar Nyusha.
Otepää which is known as a winter resort offers great opportunities for the technical centre of the rally. Service park and HQ are located in Otepää at Tehvandi Sport Centre. Besides Tartu, Elva hosts another Super Special and the gravel stages in South-Estonia are considered as the best in the country.
Shell Helix Rally Estonia rally passes are on sale in online store on www.rallyestonia.com and in all Circle K stations all over Estonia.
Shell Helix Rally Estonia held on 13-15 of July is a round of Estonian and Latvian rally championships and FIA European Rally Trophy.
More information > www.rallyestonia.com
More ways to spend your vacation in Estonia > www.visitestonia.com