Rally Adriatico retirement: difficult preparation for the gravel WRC events

07.05.2019

The mistake did not let Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov fight for victory at the Italian gravel championship rally.

This weekend, the crew of the SRT team took part in Rally Adriatico, the first gravel event in this season. The race in Italy was the next step in preparing for the WRC gravel, which Nikolay and Yaroslav will face at the end of the month.

Nikolay Gryazin - Rally Adriatico 2019

The crew did not set any tournament targets for the Italian race. The main goal was to "wheel in," gain speed on gravel and prepare for the Rally Portugal.

Nikolay Gryazin - Rally Adriatico 2019

There was small rain at the special stages right the night before the start, which made the road mainly damp and slippery. The crew went to the morning loop on medium tires, which, undoubtedly, put it at a disadvantage in comparison with the rivals.

Nikolay Gryazin - Rally Adriatico 2019

Nikolay Gryazin

Driver

"We chose the TL80 tires, although we understood that softer TL70s would fit better. We did it because at the Rally Portugal we will be able to choose only between the medium TL80 and the hard TL90. So we decided to get used to the tires that we will use at the WRC event.

Therefore, in the first loop, we had a very tough time. All rivals used soft tires, more suitable for these conditions, and we had to risk and slide a lot. Nevertheless, we showed a good result."

Nikolay Gryazin - Rally Adriatico 2019

Nikolay and Yaroslav finished the first section in the 2nd position overall, leading 2.8 seconds to the Frenchman Stephane Consani. At the same time, despite challenging conditions and the non-perfect choice of tires, the crew managed to win SS3.

The road began to dry out to the second loop, and the morning choice of tires was ideal then. Having changed the settings during the service, our crew began to attack, having won the SS5 and closed the gap from the leader to 1.3 seconds. Unfortunately, on the SS6 Nikolay hit the bank, and the car went off the road.

Nikolay Gryazin - Rally Adriatico 2019

Nikolay Gryazin

Driver

"We started the loop very well, having won the first stage, but I've made a mistake on the second one. It happens. Moreover, our plan implies that at the World Championship we go for the result, and during national rallies we work on speed, trying to go beyond the limits. These tactics raise the driver's speed on the pace notes, but it isn't safe.

Nikolay Gryazin - Rally Adriatico 2019

This time we weren't lucky, but I nevertheless was satisfied with the way I was driving under challenging conditions and coping with a non-optimal choice of tires. I only regret that we drove very little on a dry road, but we will still have the test session before the Rally Portugal. Let's hope that everything goes well in Portugal."

Nikolay Gryazin - Rally Adriatico 2019

Nikolay and Yaroslav will take part in tests in Sardinia before the start of the WRC Rally Portugal. The tests will be held from May 15th to 17th. 

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