Round 3 of 6: Rally Rzeszow, 3-5 August

BUǦRA BANAZ (TUR) Championship position: Fourth
Co-driver: Burak Erdener (TUR) Car: Ford Fiesta R2

“Our car is not at its best on asphalt in terms of outright performance but we competed in Poland last year so we are not total strangers on the event. I am hoping for a top-five finish and to also stay competitive in the ERC3 class, having used the rallies in Greece and Cyprus to climb into the lead of that category, although I know it will be difficult to keep this position.”

SÉBASTIEN BEDORET (BEL) Championship position: N/A
Co-driver: Thomas Walbrecq (BEL) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“I have just seen one special stage on YouTube and saw it was a rapid stage. I like rapid stages so I take a good feeling to this rally. I have done one rally since Canarias but it ended with me off the road avoiding another car. It has not been a good season for me because I have only finished one rally so I really just want to finish and get some experience.”

DOMINIK BROŽ (CZE) Championship position: Ninth
Co-driver: Petr Těšínský (CZE) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“It’s going to be very hard because the competition is very big in the ERC and that is why my preparations are also very big. Since Rally Islas Canarias I have done one rally in Czech Republic and I have spent time with my co-driver doing some practice. I don’t know what result we can get – we will have to see.”

JARI HUTTUNEN (FIN) Championship position: Third
Co-driver: Akki Linnaketo (FIN) Car: Opel ADAM R2

“We’ve had a solid preparation for Rally Rzeszow, as we competed in the challenging Rallye Weiz in Austria winning the highly competitive R2 class and being fastest 2WD car out there. We even managed to finish seventh in general classification with our little ADAM R2 amongst several strong four-wheel-drive cars. So Antti and I had the chance to get back to competition mode after a quite long break. We are very much looking forward to Rally Rzeszow which is new for ourselves but also for most of our competitors. It promises to be good fun to drive. As always in the highly competitive ERC Junior we will do our best to avoid any mistakes but be quick on the other hand. Sounds so easy but is so difficult.”

CHRIS INGRAM (GBR) Championship position: First
Co-driver: Elliott Edmondson (GBR) Car: Opel ADAM R2

“Myself and Elliott are very focused on Rally Rzeszow after quite a long break in the ERC Junior calendar. To fill the space between, we had the opportunity to do the Ypres Rally which has prepared us for the fast Tarmac events ahead and I’ve also been watching all of the Eurosport programmes from past editions of the rally. We are preparing harder than ever to ensure that every opportunity of competing in a rally has a positive impact on our careers, therefore we are targeting another victory in our ADAM R2 together with the Opel Rallye Junior Team. Secretly I am really enjoying the experience and don’t feel much pressure whilst still being ultra focused and serious in reaching my goals.” 

KRISTÓF KLAUSZ (HUN) Championship position: N/A
Co-driver: Botond Csányi (HUN) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“We have not taken part in this event yet so we don’t have any experience. Our target is to size up the balance of power in the championship and then, of course, to gain a better position by the end of the race. Last year on every single race we faced some difficulties. Sometimes we had technical problems, because of those we could not accomplish the races as we planned. This year we start a completely new episode in our racing career and we will do our very best to fulfil our goals. In ERC Junior the drivers are very good so it will be a great result to perform well and succeed.”

KAREL KUPEC (CZE) Championship position: Seventh
Co-driver: Ondřej Krajča (CZE) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“Because there was a long break in ERC Junior U27 I have started on some rounds in Czech Republic testing both the Peugeot 208 R2 and Opel ADAM R2 to find which car is better. Now I am looking forward to Rally Rzeszow and I will try to make the best possible result. It is nice that my younger brother will start there too, it will be a great experience for him.”

RADOMIR KUPEC (CZE) Championship position: N/A
Co-driver: Petr Glössl (CZE) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“It will be my first race longer than 70 kilometres except the Lausitz Rallye in 2015, so I hope that I will see the finish line and gain some experience of a big event. Thus, my main objective is to finish the race. A few years ago there was a firm rivalry between my brother and me, but in all crucial moments we helped each other and I am sure it will be the same this time, because he is now the one who is more experienced and faster and I will be there to learn something new from him and others.”

FILIP MAREŠ (CZE) Championship position: Sixth
Co-driver: Jan Hloušek (CZE) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“My target is to finish with a good result. We have been doing some rallies in Czech Republic since Gran Canaria. In fact, we did Rally Pačejov before Rally Rzeszow as our test. Hopefully the set-up work will be good for Poland because the stages seem similar to what we have in Czech Republic based on what we have seen from looking at videos and from information we have gathered from other crews. I think the stages will be my cup of tea so hopefully it will be a good rally for us.” 

TAMARA MOLINARO (ITA) Championship position: Fifth
Co-driver: Ursula Mayrhofer (AUT) Car: Opel ADAM R2

“I can’t wait to be back in my ADAM R2 run by the Opel Rallye Junior Team. Rally Rzeszow will be another thrilling ERC challenge which I am very much looking forward to. I don’t know the rally at all, so I am doing my very best to prepare for the event which I am sure will feature some extremely tricky Tarmac roads. My co-driver Ursula and myself will concentrate on the recce to make sure our pacenotes are accurate. The big goal as always will be to be clever, get the car to the finish line and score as many points for the ERC Ladies’ Trophy as well as the general classification as possible.”

CATIE MUNNINGS (GBR) Championship position: Tenth
Co-driver: Anne Katharina Stein (DEU) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“I am really excited to get back behind the wheel again. It's been a long three months out of the car since Gran Canaria so I hope the feeling comes back quickly as we were making great progress on those incredible roads in the Canary Islands. I am expecting Rzeszow to be an incredibly fast rally where you have to think and act quickly on the challenging roads, but we are more than ready to go. My aim is like every rally: to get to the finish and increase our pace again against the fastest ERC Juniors. The Tarmac will be very different to Gran Canaria so it will be very good for me to get experience on.”

SIMON WAGNER (AUT) Championship position: N/A
Co-driver: Gerald Winter (AUT) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

“We will try to find a good rhythm, get used to the stages and the Tarmac and try to set some top-five stage times on the second day. My target is to learn and get more experience as it’s my first international season after winning the junior and two-wheel-drive categories in Austria last year. I’ve chosen ERC Junior Under 27 because of the great competition with drivers in similar cars and of course the great rallies on the calendar. This rally and Barum Czech Rally Zlín are 100 per cent but I try everything to find more partners and sponsors for the last two events.”

ALEKS ZAWADA (POL) Championship position: Second
Co-driver: Grzegorz Dachowski (POL) Car: Opel ADAM R2

“This event is doubly important to me. Not only is it my first ERC event in Poland when I’m eligible for an ERC championship, it’s also really important I close the gap to Chris Ingram and I’ll be doing the best I can to do that and be on the top step of the podium. Second and third places are nice but I’m aiming now more than ever for wins. I’ve done this event four times before and I’ve had some of my biggest shunts here. I reckon I’ve got experience of only one of the stages so it’s not going to be the advantage I was hoping it would be. It’s still a leg-up before the start but I was only on this event as a team manager last year.”