Patrik Flodin has revealed his delight after being chosen as the latest winner of the prestigious Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy.
Flodin, from Sweden, earned the award for his endeavours on the Sibiu Rally in Romania when he fought back from 45th and last to finish second overall for his maiden podium in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
“Colin McRae is the most famous driver in the world and he was everybody’s idol,” said Flodin, who was driving an M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 for the Hankook Petter Solberg Engineering team. “For a small person like me to win this I don’t have words. I’m really, really happy. This is big for me but it’s a big surprise.”
IRC Manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas, who along with Eurosport’s Gilbert Roy and Colin’s father Jimmy formed the judging panel, explained the decision: “After a lot of discussion it could have been easy to consider Andreas Mikkelsen because, as usual, he was the fastest and won a lot of stages. But considering the spirit of Colin McRae we have decided on this rally that Patrik Flodin, who was 45th after stage two but never gave up, was always flat out as he fought back up to second place.”