However, this time he will tackle the German Tarmac on his first ever asphalt event in the WRC. The ex-professional basketball player will be flanked by a new Portuguese co-driver Hugo Maglhaes.
With three Production car World Rally Championship titles under their belt, Ralliart Italy is well-prepared to use their experience to make Fessman’s latest challenge run as smoothly as possible.

After a premature end to his event in Finland, Fessman is determined to complete every stage of ADAC Rallye Deutschland, which begins today with the Ceremonial Start in Cologne followed by SS1 and SS2: ”I felt immediately comfortable on the Tarmac. In Venezuela we mainly compete on gravel, but we did a good recce and I was pleased with my Shakedown times – I was on the pace of other Group N cars I use as a benchmark. For my first ever stage on asphalt, this was really encouraging!
”I’m quite confident that I can get a good speed during the rally in some places. Of course, the critical test for any driver at Rallye Deutschland is Panzerplatte, so I really hope to see that stage and see how I perform! It’s my first time in Germany and it’s a really beautiful country, so I can’t wait for the rally. My grandfather was German, so it’s quite special to be here – and fantastic to be competing again in the WRC!”
Ralliart Italy Team Manager Bruno De Pianto was pleased with Fessman’s performance on Shakedown and is looking forward to the upcoming event: ”We didn’t know what to expect when we arrived, because this will be Carlos’ first competitive outing on asphalt, but he seems to have a good feeling in his Mitsubishi. He was happy after recce and immediately surpassed his target pace on Shakedown. Of course, the rally is long and Germany’s a fast and tricky event, but Carlos has a sensible strategy and wants to get as much experience as possible ahead of the other Tarmac events later in the season in France and Spain!”