Armindo Araújo, Yoann Bonato, Jean-Baptiste Franceschi, Efrén Llarena, Bruno Magalhães, Miko Marczyk and Dani Sordo attended the pre-event press conference for Rally Serras de Fafe e Felguieras, round six of the 2021 FIA European Rally Championship 

ARMINDO ARAÚJO:

“It’s really nice to be here in the ERC, it’s always a pleasure. This rally is one of the most important rallies for us in the national championship and the stages are really important and traditional for all the people and the drivers and last year I won this rally so it was a good event for me.

“I know very well these stages of course but with this championship here it will be more difficult, but we have some point to achieve and the first point is to have the points for our national championship. At the moment I am leading the championship at the moment but Bruno [Magalhães] is pushing hard so I will try to win again. After that if it’s possible to go ahead in front of the ERC [drivers] I will try something, but the first point is the national championship, but we will see.

“We have a lot of experience me and Bruno and we are driving these stages and this championship for many years but we are enjoying a lot to be here with these drivers and these cars and I hope to be here in the next years.

“The surface here is typical from this area. With good weather we have a good grip but with bad weather the grip changes a lot and it will be a big challenge for us with the tyre choice and the position on the road so we have to be very clever all the rally because in some points it will be really slippery. But last year it was raining and I win the rally.”

YOANN BONATO (CHL SPORT AUTO):

“On the Azores Rallye I was a bit wide on a fast section on a very easy left corner and I jumped on the wrong side. I did a loop, in skiing it’s a good jump but in rallying you don’t do this, but we are okay with a new car, our team made a new one and it’s good news to be here. We like this rally and I think it will be a good experience for this weekend.

“I was in a rally in the French championship last weekend, which I won. For sure we have a very hard year for this and next week I will be in a French championship again in Antibes. For sure it’s very busy but it’s a good job to have. 

“When I was here last year it was on Tarmac and this year we are on gravel so the roads are different. Last year was my first experience but it was a very good experience and I was very happy with my podium. We never know what can happen on this rally but we try to do our best.”

JEAN-BAPTISTE FRANCESCHI (TOKSPORT WRT):

“We are back and we are in the fight for the ERC championship and the ERC Teams’ championship. In the beginning it was not in the plan to go to the Azores and Fafe but now we are here we are going to give the maximum. The Azores was a long rally and we just had to go through [after Pep Bassas retired]. But now we have a good battle with Bassas and I can’t wait to start the rally.

“I am in thee same team as Andreas Mikkelsen but I have not asked for advice. But I did Rally de Portugal in 2019 so I remember some stages. But this year is different and we have to go and fight in the front. For sure the stages are really nice and if I have some questions I can ask [Andreas] questions.

“With the two-wheel drive the big jump is different. If you are too fast we can go directly into the floor so we have to be careful and manage the car. At the end the most important thing is to finish the race. It’s nice to be in the fight and nice to do some amazing rally like this and that’s why we are giving the maximum all the time.”

EFRÉN LLARENA (RALLYE TEAM SPAIN):

“Everything is going well, for sure we are not the fastest in all rallies [because we are learning all the time] but we are fighting in the top five. Okay we know the championship is long with a lot of different rallies, especially like Barum and Canaries that are completely different. We will try to do our beest here and see what happens in the last few events.

“We are doing more or less the same season [as Miko Marczyk], finishing in the top five, sometimes for the podium, sometimes sixth or seventh position. It’s his second ERC season so he’s doing a really good job and I will try to be in front of him for sure. There is only the last stage of this rally that’s the same from when I was here three years ago. We know this stage the rest of the rally is completely new and it’s the same for the others apart from the WRC and Portuguese guys.

BRUNO MAGALHÃES (TEAM HYUNDAI PORTUGAL):

“Last year with the pandemic it was a disaster for me, we had a full programme for the ERC so it was my first time with a full programme, it was completely confirmed but after it was cancelled because of the pandemic. Fortunately, we keep in the rallies, we made the national championship but it’s a big pleasure to come back to the ERC family. This rally is a mythical rally for us and all the Portuguese drivers. Everybody knows the stage with the jump all over the world and it’s a pleasure to come back here.

“The weather changes a lot of the conditions here because normally we have a lot of sand on the road on these stages. But with some rain this sand can be a problem and you can have some mud on the road and when you have mud it’s really, really slippery. On my side I could choose fifth or 20th and I prefer 20 because with my information there will be a little bit of rain but not too much. We will see if it’s a good strategy or not.

“It’s a new car as everybody knows and five years after the old one it’s with new technologies. The car felt quite okay on the test but with the ERC rules I could just test for one day and of course it was not optimal. But even on the free practice I was testing different things, especially the springs to make a good decision for the rally.

“We are in the same team [as André Villas-Boas] so all the job I have been doing for three years is available for him. He tried the car and like a lot. But he is not only showing his charity programme, he drives well even if his sport is another one.”

MIKO MARCZYK (ORLEN TEAM):

“It’s a big pleasure for me and Szymon [Gospodarczyk] and all team to fight for the ERC-MICHELIN Talent Factory, which is an additional award for junior drivers in Rally2 cars and it’s important to compare with other guys with similar knowledge and experience like Efrén and Erik [Cais].

“I have worked with MICHELIN since the 2019 Polish championship, which I won. The cooperation has been really good and I reappreciate the tyres and it’s great we have the opportunity to fight in this competition, which is for me a small junior category. Of course, I really appreciate we can fight with Efrén and Sara [Fernández]. From my perspective he’s very good, consistent and very fast, even faster than me and Szymon at this time.

“I’m really happy about my development as a driver and we have shown strong potential for the future. We will learn here like we did in the Azores. I am happy that after five rounds I’m not only in contention for the ERC-MICHELIN Talent Factory but in the top three of the general classification. I have a feeling that when I am debuting on these rallies I am over-pushing and it’s too much because I am in the learning process and sometimes the pacenotes are not always perfect. I am trying to combine the learning process with being on the finish line and fighting.”

DANI SORDO (TEAM MRF TYRES):

“Of course, it’s a little bit different than the last time [when I drove a World Rally Car here] but we know the rally and we know the car and the tyres a little bit more now but the most important is we know the rally quite good and more than the last rally [in the Azores] so we have an advantage in this way.

“We need to be calm [about our chances] but like every driver we are here to win, there are many drivers who can fight for the victory, not only Andreas [Mikkelsen]. Of course we will fight but everyone in this rally wants the victory. Fafe is like a really special place, the children wants to be a rally driver and they have a lot of passion for the rally. The museum was a really nice place to be and see these old cars. It was my first time there and it was quite impressive.

“For me I will do only these two rallies at the moment but after let’s see. I don’t think I will do any more this year, we planned to do these rallies and we are very happy with the team, the tyres are working good and for sure we will look for the victory. We’ve already made good times, the tyre won in Finland a couple of days before and this has shown for everybody the tyres are really competitive. When they develop a bit more we will be even faster.”