Delecour: My heart goes out to Lukyanuk

François Delecour says he felt for his rival Alexey Lukyanuk when the Russian dropped out of their battle for third place on Rally Liepāja-Ventspils on Sunday afternoon.

Delecour (pictured) and Lukyanuk were in a close fight for third place when Lukyanuk hit trouble on the penultimate stage and retired with damage to his car’s oil cooler following a brush with a snow bank.

With Lukyanuk out, Delecour was able to cruise to the finish and his first podium in this year’s FIA European Rally Championship in his Visit Romania-backed Peugeot 207 Super 2000.

“Unfortunately it is part of the job and it happens so many times with many drivers,” said Delecour. “I know he has done a very good performance but anyway it’s rallying and it’s very often like that. He we have proved we are still competitive and not too far from [Craig] Breen after many beautiful stages. And the points are important for the championship and the rest of the year.”

Delecour’s performance in Latvia puts him up to third place in the drivers’ standings.