Villagra, who replaces Juan Pablo Raies, impressed last time out in Argentina, when won the Production Car World Rally Championship category and finished ninth overall on his home event. He got his first taste of the Ford Focus RS WRC06 on Monday, when he conducted the team’s pre-event test.
Speaking prior to the event in Sardinia, he conceded that while he wants to score points, his initial aim, at least for his first event, is just to get to the finish.
“I am very happy to be part of this project and I will try the best for my new team. The idea is to try and score points for the Munchi’s team but driving safe at the beginning and learning as fast as we can. It’s a new car and different power but I will try my best and hopefully show that I have the pace to score points for the team,” he noted.
“I have never raced in Sardinia before but I am really looking forward to it, I have heard some areas are similar to Argentina which I think will be a big help. This is my first time in a WRC car so I don’t really know what to expect, all I know is that it’s going to be a lot faster and require a lot more concentration. My aim is to try to finish the rally so we can have as many miles with the car from the start.”
Luis-Perez Companc meanwhile has conceded that while the event in Sardinia won’t be easy, he will still go into it with the same aim as he had in Argentina, his home event, namely to try and score points and open the teams account.
Rally Argentina was a frustrating outing for Companc as he had to retire on the first ‘proper’ test when he went out with suspension problems. The 35-year-old though was encouraged by his pace on the final day and he is hoping to repeat that kind of form throughout the entire duration of this event.
“My home event did not go as expected, the problem we had on the first main stage set us back for the whole event. However the positive side was the fact that I had some good times on the final day’s stages and I am taking this knowledge to Sardinia with me this week,” he noted.
