The Venezuelan pair had very close times throughout the day. Fessman had added experience after recently competing in a Ralliart Italy Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X at Rally d’Italia. However, he and his countryman were inseparable on the first day of competition and incredibly they finished on exactly the same time of 35 minutes 22 seconds!
Their day was uneventful until SS3. While both men had been disappointed to hear of Latvala’s misfortune on SS2, they were even more shocked to find the flying Finn sandwiched between them on the stage! New target for Fessman: don’t get overtaken by local hero and long-time works driver Latvala. A next to impossible challenge in normal conditions, Latvala’s handicap gave Fessman a fighting chance and stay ahead of the Finn he did. That’s certainly a moment for the scrapbook: ”I was waiting at the stage start, ready to see Alex [Gelvez] pull up behind me and then I saw a white car. I realized it was Latvala and at first the feeling was good, but then I was scared. I had to concentrate very hard in that stage to make sure he didn’t catch me and it was the best stage I did all day!”
On Gelvez’s first test outside Europe, he was pleased to experience such an iconic event and hopes to improve throughout the weekend: ”Rally Finland is a totally new event for me. It’s important to explain that we come from a country without rallies, but which is starting to have rally drivers. We are ambassadors. We want to make Venezuela proud, but it’s also all new to us. The most difficult thing here is the high speed of the stages and managing to keep calm and in control in fifth gear and with the jumps. I feel safe though, because I know we have a really good car prepared by Ralliart Italy.”
Team Manager Bruno De Pianto was impressed with both drivers’ endurance and hopes this is the start of a great weekend for them, Venezuela and the team: ”Carlos and Alex had a very good opening to the rally. The Mitsubishis worked well and we were very happy with the DMACK tyres. Their main aim was to get through the stages without any problems and improve their driving style. Finland is a difficult rally for any driver, but it’s always a particular challenge the first time. They’re having a great time and doing Venezuela proud. We have two more long days to go, but I’m confident they’ll be good ones!”
