Lombardo has steady run in tough conditions
After a steady day and no major problems, Venezuelan driver Alejandro Lombardo holds third place in the WRC 2 Production Cup in his Ralliart Italy-run Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X at Rallye de France. For the second day running, he got off to a difficult start when he reached the Time Control at the start of SS8, the opening stage of the day, two minutes late, earning him a 20 second penalty.
Despite the tricky, alien conditions, Lombardo showed promising pace and was pleased with his speed throughout the day. He did have one small impact towards the start of SS13 and damaged his steering, affecting his alignment for the rest of that test and the following SS14, the final stage of the day.
This incident lost him some time in his fight with Marco Vallario for second in the Production Cup, which had already been damaged by a total of 1 minute 10 seconds road penalties over Days One and Two. These penalties cost dear since he finished Saturday only 44.9 seconds behind his Italian rival.
Lombardo feels positive as he looks ahead to the final day of the challenging event: "I'm very happy. Everything went well with my car. I had a good feeling. The conditions are very difficult and I don't want to make any mistakes. To finish third in the Production Cup on my first European WRC event would be very important for me. Tomorrow I'm focused on holding this position and finishing on the podium, while learning the different character of the stages on Sunday's itinerary."
Ralliart Italy Team Manager Bruno De Pianto regrets the time lost through road penalties, but is pleased with Lombardo's performance on his WRC Tarmac debut: "It's frustrating to have lost a key position due to road penalties. However, ultimately this is all part of the learning experience and I'm sure that Alejandro will learn from the experience and come back stronger. Meanwhile, his times are promising and despite his setbacks, I'm pleased with his position. Driving an event as difficult as Rallye de France is key to the progress of any driver competing in the WRC so all that's left is to say thank you to Venezuela and its Ministry of Sport for giving Lombardo this opportunity. I hope this will be the fourth consecutive event with one of our Rally Team Venezuela drivers on the Production Cup podium."
