No extra pressure for home hero Villagra

“It’s not like I have any big pressure”

By Franck Drui

18 May 2011 - 15:04
No extra pressure for home hero Villagra

Argentine Federico Villagra insists he won’t be under any extra pressure to perform when the World Rally Championship resumes in his homeland next week.

The Munchi’s Ford star, who turns 42 on Saturday, occupies ninth in the drivers’ classification after five rounds and is expected to be among the frontrunners on the Carlos Paz-based rally, which takes place from 26-29 May.

“You always try to do your best on your home event and that gives you a little pressure but it’s not like I have any big pressure,” said Villagra. “I will give 100 per cent and get the best result I can, like I always do.”

Argentina missed out on a slot on last year’s WRC calendar but returns this season with a tweaked route, which includes sections of Tarmac. With the bulk of the crews using the soft compound version of Michelin’s Latitude Cross tyre, designed for use on gravel in cold and damp conditions, Villagra has raised concerns about the increased amount of wear they will be subjected to.

“We have 20 kilometres on Tarmac, then three stages and then we drive for 120 kilometres so I don’t know how good the tyres are going to be,” he said. “Also, the weather can be cold in the mornings and later in the day but you can have warm days, which won’t be good for the tyres.”

Despite the potential pitfalls, Villagra has said he is relishing taking part on his home rally. “It’s always nice to race in front of my home fans and there are a lot of people there to push you. The rally in Argentina is what we have been used to racing all my life and we know pretty much all the stages and that really helps.”

Villagra will start the event on the back of winning the third round of the Argentine Rally Championship, Rally de Cutral Co y Plaza Huincul, which took place in the Patagonian province of Neuquen last weekend.

After retiring on the first two rounds, Villagra’s victory over FIA WRC Academy regular Miguel Baldoni was his first in his new Maxi Rally-class Ford Fiesta alongside co-driver Jorge Perez Companc.

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