Rally / 28 January 2013

Zoltan Bessenyey and Yulianna Nyirfas skip the classic winter rally in Latvia

After the European Rally Championship d?but under the umbrella of Eurosport Events at the Austrian J?nner Rally, the caravan of the ERC moves on to Latvia for the second round - the Rally Liepaja-Ventspils. The Rally Liepaja-Ventspils is the first fully-fledged winter rally and the snow event will pose a big challenge for the drivers and organizers, as well for the spectators.

Zoltan Bessenyey and co-driver Yulianna Nyirfas, who secured 3rd place in the 2WD category of the Janner Rally, won?t be participating in the classic winter rallythis weekend.

?With my limited experience on snow and ice-covered roads, it didn?t seem wise to compete in the conditions we would encounter in Liepaja and Ventspils,? says Hungarian Zoltan about his absence from the second round of the ERC. ?I have been driving a lot on circuits, and I still am more confident on tarmac roads. Luckily there wasn?t a lot of snow in the Janner Rally, but it was still a tough challenge - and I was very happy with the final result, of course!?

Zoltan, co-driver Yulianna Nyirfas and the Eurosol-Honda Civic Type R will have to wait until the third round of the ERC for their return to action. The third round will take place in the Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingl?s between March 21st-23rd 2013, and will be fought on asphalt stages.

?After that we will be attending the SATA Rallye A?ores on April 25th, and probably also the Tour de Corse. The decision of which ERC rallies we?ll compete in will depend on the situation in the 2WD Championship. After all, the main goal is - and continues to be - to win the 2WD Team Championship.?

In Latvia, the colours of Honda will be defended by Zbynek Baller and Ondrej Bisaha from the Czech SAS Zlin, in their Honda Civic VTi?s. Baller won the fight from Bisaha in Class 9 of the Austrian season opener.

The rally starts on Friday February 1st in the neighbourhood of Liepaja, some 219 kilometres from the capital Riga, with a Qualifying Stage and two special stages. On Saturday February 2, the drivers will continue towards the North of the country and, after four special stages, the day will be come to a close near Ventspils. On Sunday February 3, after completing a service in Ventspils and the last five special stages of the race, the winner will appear at the Awarding Ceremony in Ventspils. The whole rally is comprised of fifteen special stages, totalling 243 kilometres of action in the snow! 

More: www.fiaerc.com