Just a short hop across the Mediterranean sees the FIA World Rally Championship contenders move from Cyprus to Turkey for the seventh round of the series and the second of three consecutive hot and rough gravel rallies. After a promising performance over the car-breaking Cypriot stages, Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen spearhead the team`s assault on the Rally of Turkey (June 3-5), while Italian team-mates “Gigi” Galli and Guido D`Amore return to competitive action, having missed the Cyprus Rally in favor of the Panizzi brothers.
“I think we have a strong team for this rally,” said Isao Torii, Head of Mitsubishi Motor Sports. “We went into Cyprus with the goal of achieving a top five placing and with both cars in the points in the Manufacturers` Championship. We achieved that on an extremely tough and demanding event. For Turkey, I would like to see us reach the end of the rally without major technical problems to give the drivers the opportunity to show their true speed. We will then naturally get a good result with both crews I believe, and scoring manufacturer points to get closer to our rivals continues to be our goal.”
The Rally of Turkey joined the FIA World Rally Championship in 2003 and Harri Rovanperä/Risto Pietiläinen have competed in the event each year it has run in the series. However, the Finns have not had the best luck, retiring in 2003 with suspension damage and again last year with transmission problems. Their pace, and the performance of the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 in Cyprus, does however bode well for another points-scoring finish and, after a productive test that focused on these rough and rocky conditions, the Finns are confident they can improve on their seventh place finish two weeks ago.
“I completed lots of kilometers during two long days of testing and we tried many different damper settings and hopefully we have found something good for the conditions,” commented Harri. “I certainly feel happier going into this rally than I did in Cyprus, as much because we have more knowledge and understanding of the car in these conditions. I hope we can do a nice rally without problems. I feel a top five result is possible, for sure.”
Team-mates Gigi Galli and Guido D`Amore only contested the Rally of Turkey last year in one of four outings in the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04. The Italians finished 10th overall, overcoming turbo problems in the second leg to claim points in only their second outing with the team. While the pair did not compete in the Cyprus Rally, they nevertheless completed the recce and Gigi joined the team over the weekend to further understand the car-breaking nature of the rough roads frequently found on these Mediterranean events.
“I`m sure we will have better road conditions in Turkey than Sardinia and Cyprus, but we have to wait until the recce to see,” said Gigi. “It was very useful for me to see the conditions in Cyprus, but Turkey will be different; faster and not so rough I`m absolutely sure. I feel this rally is another good opportunity for me to improve my skills. I feel no real pressure, but I will finish the rally with the best possible result for the team, hopefully in the points.”
Adding to the drivers` comments, Technical Director Mario Fornaris said: “Our test the week before the rally was good and generally we were tuning the car for the conditions we will find in Turkey and Greece. I believe we have improved the dampers with a couple of new parts, and although the conditions in Turkey will be slightly different, our test road was representative of what we`re expecting to find so I`m definitely feeling more confident going into this rally. We also did extensive testing with two different evolutions of Pirelli`s XR tire and generally speaking I`m happier that we have done more testing in these rougher conditions.”
The Rally of Turkey is based in the holiday resort of Antalya, directly south of the capital city of Istanbul and provides a unique mix of European and Middle Eastern character. The area is steeped in history with a beautifully restored harbor, quaint houses and restaurants lining the narrow streets, while the hilltops overlook stretches of white sandy beaches. While the event is quicker and more varied than Cyprus, it is still likely to be one of the toughest of the season with yet more rocks and boulders littering the roads and possibly even higher temperatures, which will once again test tire wear and physical stamina to the limit.
The event kicks off on Thursday evening with a ceremonial start in Antalya, but the action opens on the morning of Friday June 3 with the first of eight special stages, all based around the central service area in Kemer. The route takes in 148.14 competitive kilometers and is rounded off with the first run around the new 2.6 kilometer super special stage in Antalya.
On Saturday (June 4), another seven stages lay in wait over the longest leg of the event, at 150.49 competitive kilometers, which again finishes with two laps around the super special stage. Sunday`s closing leg is by far the shortest, with just two stages and 49.80 competitive kilometers.
The final stage is however the longest of the event at 33.35 kilometers and promises to provide a thrilling finale to this year`s Rally of Turkey. In total, the event takes in 17 special stages and 348.43 competitive kilometers in a total distance of 1,228.94 kilometers before the finish in Kemer at 12:55 hrs (local).


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