After their stunning performance in the opening leg of the Rally of Turkey, in which “Gigi” Galli and Guido D`Amore held second overnight, the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 crew suffered huge disappointment this morning.
The Italian duo plummeted to tenth position after the first two stages when a turbo pipe disconnected. After repairs in service, the crew were back on the pace and set their second fastest stage time of the event (SS14) and were consistently within the top five throughout the day. They overnight in eighth position. Team-mates Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen re-started under SUPERally regulations and hold 10th. The Finns are focused on testing and both crews hope to pick up manufacturer points on Sunday afternoon.
“Of course it was a pity to have a problem with Gigi`s car, but afterwards we gave him the task of showing his speed and the performance of the car,” said Isao Torii, Head of Mitsubishi Motor Sports. "Again he set a fastest stage time, which is very encouraging for the whole team. Harri has also been constant, showing some speed. On the face of it our positions don`t look so good, but stage by stage everything is very positive and promising; it shows we have made good progress. From this rally I am very encouraged for the second half of the season and we are definitely in a position to attack for a podium position.”
Today`s leg, the longest of the event, took the crews to the west of Kemer for another six mountain stages before returning to Antalya for the second and final run over the 5.20 kilometer super special stage. In total, the leg took in 494.39 kilometers, 150.49 of which were competitive. While temperatures once again rocketed in the service park in Kemer, temperatures in the stages were marginally cooler and rain fell during the afternoon, making for tricky conditions.
All the good sensation and satisfaction from yesterday is still there; none of us forget this,” said a disappointed but philosophical Gigi. “We had one small problem and the one thing that changed is our position. Sure, that is disappointing for everyone, but our objective remains the same; to show speed, the car`s potential, to learn the roads and understand more and more about the set-up. You learn something from every rally and I just have to think that this is just not our time yet… I knew this morning it would be hard to stay ahead of Marcus and Petter, but we did a good job during the day and did some top stage times; that is what matters.”
Team-mate Harri Rovanperä has moved one position up the leaderboard and is now focused on improving and learning more about the car set-up.
“We swapped to Gigi`s set-up for the last three stages and for me there was no great difference,” said Harri. “There was some better traction, but when it was bumpy the car was grounding more, so some things were good and others not so good. Overall everything`s been okay, but it`s been a long and hot day.”
Adding to the drivers` comments, Technical Director Mario Fornaris said: “There is a mix of different feelings; on the one hand I am very happy with Gigi`s performance but on the other very sorry we couldn`t allow him to carry on fighting. Once Harri`s car was entered into SUPERally we decided to take the opportunity to test different set-ups and considering his position on the road was not so good, I am happy Harri had no problems.”
The final leg of the Rally of Turkey takes in just two stages. However, totaling 48.80 competitive kilometers, they are sure to provide a thrilling finale to this year`s event.


Tags: mitsubishi-lancer, turkey, antalya, gigi, galli,