ERC five questions to: Marijan Griebel

What’s so good about the Azores Airlines Rallye?“It’s a unique event. On the one hand, the island of São Miguel has breathtaking countryside and amazing vegetation. On the other hand, the special stages are really tricky, narrow and demanding. The weather can change all the time, it’s a mixture you can only have in this place.”

How hard is the event?“I think this event is one of the hardest in the ERC calendar. Already last year we were more than 30 R5 cars, but the gaps in the final results were really big. This shows the difficulty of the rally.”

What do you need to do to be successful here?“The key is finding a good mixture between driving without any mistakes and going as fast as possible. At first, you have to survive the narrow stages without punctures, technical problems and major issues. Then you should already be in a good position.”

As ERC Junior Under 28 champion do you feel any pressure, do you have anything to prove?“To be honest, I don´t think so. I proved my talent already in 2016 with the ERC Junior title win in the Opel ADAM R2, where I was able to win events on both Tarmac and gravel. Last year was even better [winning ERC Junior Under 28], so everybody should know what I’m capable of. This year is another situation. I have switched to the ROMO team to drive a PEUGEOT. It’s not had the same success as the ŠKODA but we want to show its pace without any pressure.”