Munster raring to rally again in the ERC after long wait ends
ByERC
Updated 17/06/2021 at 21:48 GMT
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Image credit: ERC
Grégoire Munster has spoken about some of the challenges in store on this week’s ORLEN 77th Rally Poland, his first start for almost seven months.
Munster, one of six drivers eligible for ERC-MICHELIN Talent Factory incentives, made his debut in Mikołajki in 2019 during his stint in ERC3 Junior.
Embarking on his second season in Rally2 machinery, the Luxembourg-born driver is highly rated after battling Oliver Solberg for last season’s ERC1 Junior crown.
“It’s the same speed as Rally Liepāja but the stages are much more narrow with some deep ruts,” Munster said of the Rally Poland stages. “It’s a kind of sandy surface, which gets really deep on the second pass. The road position makes quite a difference but with the second pass after the [Rally4] and all the other cars that drive after us makes also a big difference because it gets really rutted for the second pass.”
Although he has previous knowledge of the Masuria lake district roads in a Rally4 Opel ADAM, Munster believes the difference he’ll experience in his Rally2-specification Hyundai i20 R5 will be notable.
“It’s different because the [Rally2] cars can go through these conditions much more easily,” he said. “This year there is a big [Rally4] entry and it might be even rougher than [2019]. But the condition I saw with my small 2WD car gave me an idea of what I can expect this weekend.
“I have not driven since Rally Monza, seven months ago, and my last event on gravel was a small rally in France in September. But you see guys like Craig Breen and Andreas Mikkelsen have driven this year so I think they will be in good conditions in the pace and we will have to find it back as quickly as possible. This is kind of a disadvantage but it’s where we are.”
Munster is co-driven by Belgian Louis Louka, who partnered Breen to second overall on the Tarmac-based Targa Florio in Sicily last month.
Embarking on his second season in Rally2 machinery, the Luxembourg-born driver is highly rated after battling Oliver Solberg for last season’s ERC1 Junior crown.
“It’s the same speed as Rally Liepāja but the stages are much more narrow with some deep ruts,” Munster said of the Rally Poland stages. “It’s a kind of sandy surface, which gets really deep on the second pass. The road position makes quite a difference but with the second pass after the [Rally4] and all the other cars that drive after us makes also a big difference because it gets really rutted for the second pass.”
Although he has previous knowledge of the Masuria lake district roads in a Rally4 Opel ADAM, Munster believes the difference he’ll experience in his Rally2-specification Hyundai i20 R5 will be notable.
“It’s different because the [Rally2] cars can go through these conditions much more easily,” he said. “This year there is a big [Rally4] entry and it might be even rougher than [2019]. But the condition I saw with my small 2WD car gave me an idea of what I can expect this weekend.
“I have not driven since Rally Monza, seven months ago, and my last event on gravel was a small rally in France in September. But you see guys like Craig Breen and Andreas Mikkelsen have driven this year so I think they will be in good conditions in the pace and we will have to find it back as quickly as possible. This is kind of a disadvantage but it’s where we are.”
Munster is co-driven by Belgian Louis Louka, who partnered Breen to second overall on the Tarmac-based Targa Florio in Sicily last month.
The post Munster raring to rally again in the ERC after long wait ends appeared first on FIA ERC | European Rally Championship.
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