WRC
Rally Sardinia: Munchi's Ford final summary
Villagra starts hard in WRC debut Munchi's Ford World Rally Team new-comer Federico Villagra has put in a solid effort finishing his first ever WRC event, in a world rally car, eleventh outright at this weekend's Rally d'Italia Sardegna, round ...
Edited: May 21, 2007, 3:19 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Villagra starts hard in WRC debut
Munchi's Ford World Rally Team new-comer Federico Villagra has put in a solid effort finishing his first ever WRC event, in a world rally car, eleventh outright at this weekend's Rally d'Italia Sardegna, round seven of the FIA World Rally Championship.
Partnered with new co-driver Jorge Perez Companc the pair showed consistent pace to finish just one place shy of a maiden manufacturer point for the Munchi's team.
No such luck, however, for team-mates Luis Perez Companc/Jose Maria Volta who retired from the rally after rolling heavily over the first pass of Monte Lerno on Saturday. The pair were uninjured but, as a result, their Munchi's Ford Focus RS WRC06 was too badly damaged to rejoin the event on Sunday.
The Mediterranean has again treated crews to blissful weather conditions with air temperatures averaging 25 degrees celsius and surface temperatures as high as 38. The event offered a unique sandy gravel surface which coated the hard Sardinian ground.
Legs 1 and 2 ran south of the event's Olbia headquarters around the mountainous Nuoro region, while leg 3 ran to the north consisting of six short tests around Tempio Pausania and Arzachena. The narrow island roads presented crews with a number of hurdles catching out many top drivers, including current world champion Sebastien Loeb. The 18 stages of Rally d'Italia Sardegna offered everything from majestic scenery to massive jumps, delighting the locals who made the trek to view some simply spectacular action.
For Companc day one also posed problems when he stopped 800 metres short of the final stage end with an electrical throttle problem. Via phone, with his Munchi's service crew, Companc was able to re-start the car but in the lengthy process, lost nine minutes and his attack on a top-ten position.
The Argentine's misfortune continued into leg 2 when he was caught out by a large rock that was not recorded in his pace-notes. With hard force the boulder pushed his Munchi's Focus RS across the road rolling it into a ditch ending his Rally d'Italia Sardegna campaign.
Villagra did exactly what he set out to achieve, get maximum mileage and experience in a whole new world of competition for the 39-year-old. His times improved noticeably over the three days, a positive sign for future events with the Munchi's WRT.
Apart from a small off five corners from the end of stage 9 there were no real problems for Villagra who took a steady approach towards his first event in a world rally car. His main concern was pace-noting; with the Argentine star admitting that he will need to adjust his noting system in order to suit the driving style that a world rally car demands. The next Rally in the Munchi's ten event 2007 calendar will be the BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally from the 1-3 June.
Munchi's Ford World Rally Team Driver Luis Perez Companc said:
"The rally started off quite well for us but then in the afternoon of the first day we had a few problems. I overshot a junction on stage 4, losing 30 seconds, as the braking was very slippery even on the second pass and I slid off on a fast corner; luckily though there was a lot of room and we just lost some time. Then we had a throttle problem and the car stopped 800 metres from the end of stage 6. With the team's help on the telephone we got it started again and it turned out to be an electrical problem. We lost a few minutes but made it back to final service. I just needed to concentrate for day 2 and try to put in some good times.
"Saturday started well and the first stage was very good. I had the perfect road position and this meant I could follow the racing line easily and keep it all neat and I was really happy with my driving. I was trying to do the same on the second stage but unfortunately I had a pace-note that wasn't exactly correct. There was a rock and I didn't have a warning in my notes to stay far enough out from it. This forced me over to the wrong side of the road and I hit a boulder with my right rear wheel; this pushed the car across the road and we went off on the other side, rolling into a ditch. It was quite a heavy impact and the car was damaged badly."
Munchi's Ford World Rally Team Driver Federico Villagra said:
"I just started off quite steadily, trying to get used to the car and the stages with the new co-driver. I really wanted to finish this rally and get as many of the stages completed as possible so I was not pushing much. The first loop of stages was difficult, just getting used to the car, and the pace-notes weren't really as good as normal. The notes worked better on the second pass of stages and it was much easier to drive the car without thinking about it as much."
"It has been quite hard and it's not easy learning the car when you are running quite close to first on the road. There is so much loose gravel and the car is sliding and spinning wheels with the low grip making it difficult for me to get a good feeling and learn the new car. The biggest improvement has been in my confidence; now I can go to Greece and I know more what the car will do. It is still hard to know the limits but the feeling is much better for Greece."
-credit: munchi's
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Rally Sardinia: Irish teams final summary
Next article Rally Sardinia: BFGoodrich final summary
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Sébastien Loeb
Sebastien Loeb tests new Project Rally One 2027 WRC car
WRC
WRC
Rally Italy
Sebastien Loeb tests new Project Rally One 2027 WRC car
Sebastien Loeb to make traditional stage rallying return
WRC
WRC
Sebastien Loeb to make traditional stage rallying return
Sebastien Loeb after 13 Dakar punctures: Cars now extremely robust, tyres the weak link
Dakar
Dakar
Dakar
Sebastien Loeb after 13 Dakar punctures: Cars now extremely robust, tyres the weak link
Latest news
NASCAR explains why they penalized Zane Smith after latest clash with Carson Hocevar
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
1 h
NASCAR explains why they penalized Zane Smith after latest clash with Carson Hocevar
Porsche boss Laudenbach says he is "not happy" with how things were handled by IMSA in 2026
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Porsche boss Laudenbach says he is "not happy" with how things were handled by IMSA in 2026
Five things to watch out for at the F1 United States GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Five things to watch out for at the F1 United States GP
KTM sees MotoGP 2027 as a fresh start: “We never had the chance to build a new bike”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 3 h
KTM sees MotoGP 2027 as a fresh start: “We never had the chance to build a new bike”
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe