Alsace marks the first European WRC event in the career of Venezuelan driver Alejandro Lombardo. He is joined in his Ralliart Italy-run Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X by new co-driver, Adolpho Espinosa, on the navigator’s WRC debut. After finishing second in the WRC 2 Production Cup at Rally Australia, Lombardo was eager to take on the Tarmac stages of Rallye de France.
Lombardo’s first asphalt test in the WRC, the Alsace-based event is renowned for its impressive but difficult stages and unpredictable weather conditions. With this in mind, Lombardo entered the event focused on getting as much experience as possible.
After a decent time on the Thursday night Super Special Stage, putting him third in the Production Cup standings, Lombardo got off to a tricky start when he lost his way on the Road Section to SS2, first stage of this morning. Unfortunately, this earned him a 50 second penalty before his first competitive stage of the day.
Lombardo11FRA13cm482He wasn’t fazed by this mishap and did his best to stay calm and hold his position. The stages fulfilled their promise of being complicated and challenging, but Lombardo did his best throughout the day and was pleased to reach the overnight halt holding onto the last spot on the Production Cup podium.
With a tough day of 116 competitive kilometres under his belt, Lombardo now looks forward to tomorrow: “They are complicated stages. This morning my concentration wasn’t up and I made a few mistakes, but I refocused at midday service and this afternoon it was better. It was an important result for me. I lost nearly one minute due to my penalty this morning and now I’m only one minute off second place in the Production Cup. I’m sure it will be difficult again tomorrow, but I feel confident and hopeful.”
Ralliart Italy Team Manager Bruno De Pianto was disappointed for Lombardo’s penalty, but overall pleased with the Venezuelan’s performance: “It’s difficult psychologically to come back from a time penalty before even the first competitive stage of the day. That said, Alejandro did a good job this afternoon and his times met all our expectations. Rallye de France is a tough event and it’ll take time to learn the stages and how to tackle them. As always, we have Venezuela and its Ministry of Sport to thank for giving Alejandro the opportunity to do that.”
