Just two weeks after his victory at the Sibiu Rally, Simone Tempestini returned to the European Rally Championship, taking part in the 82nd edition of the Rally Poland. At the wheel of a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and with Francesca Maior by his side, the Romanian driver had a competitive pace on the stages held on the asphalt of the Silesian region.
After the first part of the competition, Simone was in the fight for the top positions of the standings. Before the special stage number 9, the Romanian crew was in 8th place overall, just 4.2 seconds behind the Top 5.
A two-minute penalty changed the course of the rally
On the way to the start of the stage, on the connecting section, Simone Tempestini and Francesca Maior were stopped for a check by the Polish traffic police. Although no violations were found and no penalty was applied, the duration of the check caused a 12-minute delay to the start.
According to the competition regulations, the delay attracted a two-minute penalty, and the Romanian crew dropped to 20th place in the overall standings.
However, Simone and Francesca continued the race with the same determination and recovered five positions by the end. The crew finished the Rally of Poland in 15th place, with a total time of 1:42:02.2, obtaining two points in the European Rally Championship standings.
“Unfortunately, I can’t do anything in this situation and we didn’t get the result I wanted here. It’s a rally that suits me as a route, we were confident that we could manage to accumulate important points. We will remain focused for the next stages,” declared Simone Tempestini at the end of the competition.
The next European stage, in the Czech Republic
After the first four rounds of the season, Simone Tempestini occupies 11th place in the overall standings of the European Rally Championship.
The next stage is scheduled for August 14–16, when the crews will meet in the Czech Republic, at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín.