of the leaderboard in Huancayo

After six weeks of break, 2006 Peruvian National Rally Champion Raul Orlandini is ready to get back on top of the leaderboard this weekend in the “Rally Pre Codasur” in Huancayo, third round of the 2008 Peruvian Rally Championship.The 22-year-old suffered a tyre puncture on the last stage of the previous round of the series, Rally Jauja, losing the rally lead and finishing third overall.  As a result he is now second in the drivers’ championship, only two points behind Nicolas Fuchs.Javier Villagra, brother of Munchi’s Ford WRC driver, Federico Villagra, both owners of Villagra Racing, was in Lima this week to help Orlandini with the set up of his car.“We have worked very hard this week to put the car in excellent condition for this weekend’s rally,” said Orlandini. “I’m very happy with the car and I think we could have some very good results in Huancayo.” “I made a few mistakes last time and was also a bit unlucky, but, we are back in form now and I plan to go flat out as always. I like this rally because it’s fast and it suits my driving style so hopefully I can win it and get back on top of the drivers’ standings,” he added.Orlandini and his orange-coloured Mitsubishi EVO IX, registered in the N4 category, will tackle 136 competitive kilometres of fast gravel divided into 10 special stages, six on day one and four on the final leg.  The rally also features several high-speed jumps, which promise to bring plenty of excitement to spectators.Rally Pre Codasur starts Friday afternoon (23 May) with a Shakedown followed by a ceremonial start in the evening, in front of the city hall of Huancayo. The first car starts SS1 on Saturday at 10.54am, local time (GMT -5hrs), and the rally finishes early afternoon on Sunday with a prize giving ceremony in Plaza Huamanmarca. You can follow the rally live online at achperu.com