Munchi’s secure points on final WRC run

Federico Villagra battled back on the final day of Rally de España to secure some crucial Manufacturer points for the Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team.

Despite Villagra retiring on Saturday with high engine temperature due to a broken alternator belt, the Argentine returned for the final day under SupeRally regulations to take his Ford Focus RS WRC from 23rd to 15th overall by the finish thanks to four-successive top-ten stage times.

He now returns home for the final two rounds of his home championship, so missing Rally Wales GB. But Villagra will return to drive for the Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team next year when he will contest ten rounds of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship piloting a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car.

“For sure, this is not how I wanted to end my WRC season and my final outing in the [Ford] Focus RS WRC,” Villagra admitted.

“But there was nothing that we could have done and we were just unlucky. My team worked hard at service to sort the problem and thankfully I was able to get back on the road for the final day. For me, the most important thing was to be able to return on Sunday and to drive the [Ford] Focus one last time,” said the eight-time Argentine champion.

“Tarmac has never been my preferred driving surface but hopefully this year’s rounds at France and Spain have made me a stronger and more experienced asphalt driver. I’m looking forward to returning to the WRC next year.”

Villagra had been only 34.3 seconds adrift of Matthew Wilson after the first day. But hopes of improving on his eighth place evaporated with his mechanical problems which led to his first retirement from a WRC round since Rally d’Italia Sardegna in May 2009.