Image: Benjamin Butschell
Rally national champion Simon Wagner is tackling the goal he has set for this year of proving himself at European level in the “Serras de Fafe” rally next week. The fact that he is in the international spotlight has something to do with the fact that this year’s gravel event has a particularly high profile. Because the special stages are also driven at the Portuguese WRC round, many WRC2 drivers are there. No fewer than 37 teams from 21 nations are fighting for championship points with their rally2 cars.
factory engineers on board
However, the man from the Mühlviertel does not expect that Simon Wagner and his co-driver Gerald Winter could finish on the podium in such a strong competition – as they did twice last year: “I can forget about that right away. I would be very happy with a top 10 result in this rally.” Wagner’s strong performance at the January rally two months ago has also noticeably improved his status at Skoda. A Skoda works engineer will accompany Wagner’s engagement with the Hungarian Eurosol Racing Team. In addition, the team can complete a whole day of testing on its own test track.
The tire manufacturer Michelin is also providing a technician for Wagner. The French are using a newly developed gravel tire in Fafe and want to receive well-founded feedback from Wagner: “The engineers tell you what you can do even better and vice versa you give feedback that is as meaningful as possible. It’s easy to make wrong decisions in this rally. I still lack experience on gravel – especially internationally. That’s why it’s important for us to drive the entire rally and learn as much as possible in the process. In this top-class field, it is advisable to wait and see.” The starting position, which is determined in qualifying, is particularly important in a gravel rally: “You can choose your starting position depending on the qualifying result. Of course we want to make maximum use of that.”
Four EM rallies planned
For Wagner, the Fafe Rally is something of a foundation for the upcoming season: “We will complete the first four ERC rallies – depending on how things go, we will then determine the further program. It would be important for us to be able to score points every time – if we can do that, a lot is possible this year.”
But Simon Wagner does not ignore the domestic state championship – after all, it is now the second time to defend the title that has been won. Simon: “It’s going to be pretty stressful – we’re coming back from Portugal on Monday and on Wednesday we’re going to start again with the visit to the Rebenland. But we are a very well-established team – I’m glad that all of our previous partners stayed on board and that a few new ones have joined.”
Source: Nachrichten
