ERC - 2018 Rally Liepāja Junior Under 27 Championship Pre-Event Quotes
Round 6 of 6: Rally Liepāja, 12-14 October
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DOMINIK BROŽ (CZE)
Co-driver: Petr Těšínský (CZE) Team: ACCR Czech Rally Team Car: PEUGEOT 208 R2
Come back soon for Dominik Brož’s quote.
SINDRE FURUSETH (NOR)
Co-driver: Jim Hjerpe (SWE) Team: SF Rally Car: Opel ADAM R2
“I am really looking forward to Latvia, we want to finish the season with a great result. We have shown our speed on Tarmac but without getting to the finish. Now it is time to do the same on gravel, but finish the rally as well. We have some fast sections in Norway, but I think the surface will be different in Latvia so we will need to adapt quickly on our pre-event test. We have a special sponsor for this event, so thanks a lot to TRODO.Iv for our cooperation on this rally.”
MIIKA HOKKANEN (FIN)
Co-driver: Reeta Hämäläinen (FIN) Team: Saintéloc Junior Team Car: PEUGEOT 208 R2
“I’m very happy to continue to race on gravel after I got some experience in the PEUGEOT 208 R2 in Poland. I hope that we can improve our speed in Latvia. Last year I think the race was quite wet, so it will be interesting to see what the weather will be like this year. We will try to finish our season with a good result, as always!”
KRISTÓF KLAUSZ (HUN)
Co-driver: Botond Csányi (HUN) Team: Klaus Motorsport Car: PEUGEOT 208 R2
“It is going to be our fifth Rally Liepāja, I really love this rally. The stages are really fast and so hard to get the good rhythm and compete against the local heroes. Our plan for the rally is developing and we want to keep on the move with the fastest juniors, reach the finish line with a good result.”
TOM KRISTENSSON (SWE)
Co-driver: Henrik Appelskog (SWE) Team: ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team Car: Opel ADAM R2
“We will enjoy our last rally of the season together with Opel Motorsport and our amazing guys from the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team very much. Winning Rally Poland as well as remembering our victory in the RC4 category at Liepāja last year give Henrik and myself an extra motivation. I feel we are capable of doing a good result again as we gained so much more experience in our ADAM R2 since then. But it’s going to be hard as always. The gravel stages in Latvia are so fast and challenging, every mistake can end your rally in a second.”
CATIE MUNNINGS (GBR)
Co-driver: Anne Katharina Stein (DEU) Team: Saintéloc Junior Team Car: PEUGEOT 208 R2
“I’m really excited to drive in Latvia, I drove there two years ago so it’s great to go back. That was my first gravel rally and I remember it was very smooth gravel, very different to the other rounds of the championship. The roads are very wide so you have quite a lot of room, and we’ve done some ERC Junior Experience training there as well so it should be good. Poland was a tough rally where we never really got into the feeling or made the progress we usually make, so I’m going to try and start fresh for Latvia. I think this time we are going to try and push a bit more because for most of the year it’s been making sure we get to the finish. Of course we want to make it to the finish in Latvia but it’ll be nice to not be held back with that pressure as that’s not always the way the other Juniors drive, so we can get a clearer indication of where we’re at by giving it a bit more.”
MĀRTIŅŠ SESKS (LVA)
Co-driver: Renārs Francis (LVA) Team: ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team Car: Opel ADAM R2
“Coming to my home rally as newly crowned ERC Junior Under 27 champion* is much better than I had dreamed of before the beginning of the season. The wins in Italy and Czech Republic were both on Tarmac and therefore a little surprising for us but set the pendulum in the right direction. Unfortunately, just Rally Poland where I prematurely could clinch the title didn’t go as I’d hoped at all. So that’s what Renars and myself want to correct during the gravel festival around my home town in front of the eyes of family, friends and fans. It’s going to be tough and spectacular.”
ROLAND STENGG (AUT)
Co-driver: Claudio Dorfbauer (AUT) Team: Stengg Motorsport Car: Opel ADAM R2
“We know it’s going to be very difficult because my last gravel event was over a year ago and I don’t have much experience on the surface at all. Unfortunately, we missed Poland and gravel testing is very limited in Austria as we don’t have the right roads for that. But I still think we’ve improved a lot in terms of speed and consistency, and we want to keep this trend rolling. I’m also really looking forward to driving with Claudia again. She did a perfect job until now and what’s also important is she keeps calm and concentrated when it’s getting hectic, that’s not something many co-drivers are able to do.”
MATTIA VITA (ITA)
Co-driver: Pietro Ometto (ITA) Team: TRT Junior Rally Team Car: PEUGEOT 208 R2
“I can’t wait to be in Liepāja as during Rally Poland my confidence with the gravel surface improved a lot. The feelings that a rally car gives you while you are driving sideways on gravel are simply amazing. Looking back on my career I’ve never felt so happy while driving. As in Poland, in Liepāja we will find very fast stages again, but it looks like the roads will be wider. Our target remains the same: a non-stop improving process from the beginning to the end of the race.”