Villagra returns to WRC for Spanish send off

Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team driver Federico Villagra is aiming for a strong comeback at next weekend’s RACC Rally de España when he tackles his last FIA World Rally Championship event of 2011.

Spain will mark the first round that the Argentine driver has competed in the WRC since Acropolis Rally in June, but Villagra is preparing to bow out of this year’s WRC in style when he returns to the world rally scene in the Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Next week will be the fifth time that Villagra has contested the Spanish edition of the WRC, and the Munchi’s Ford driver is hoping that his past experience of the blisteringly quick roads will help him find a good rhythm and set-up in the Ford Fiesta RS WRC. However, it will be the first time that Villagra has driven the car with an asphalt set-up.

Next week’s Rally de España will once again be based in the beach resort of Salou set on the Costa Daurada. Friday will see the Argentine driver’s skills put to the test as the pair will tackle a loop of stages which combines both asphalt and gravel followed by a night stage, Les Garrigues.

Saturday and Sunday will pose a fresh challenge as Villagra’s Ford Fiesta RS WRC will be transformed from gravel to full asphalt trim for a set of predominantly tarmac stages.

Regular co-driver Jorge Pérez Companc is unable to attend the event in Spain due to business commitments, so Villagra will be joined in the co-driver’s seat by Diego Curletto.

Villagra has contested six rounds of the Argentine Rally Championship (ARC) since his last WRC outing in June and has racked up six stunning victories in his specially developed Ford Fiesta. He is now leading the ARC by an impressive 58 points.

This weekend Villagra will contest Rally de Concepcion del Uruguay in Entre Rios, where the South American driver hopes to extend the lead in his home championship even further.

Federico Villagra said: “I’m looking forward to returning to the WRC, I’ve really missed the team and Greece feels like a very long time ago now. Since Acropolis Rally I’ve been busy concentrating on home rallies in the ARC. The start of the season didn’t go very well for us but then it was like something clicked and we’re leading with just three rallies left. I just hope that we can take some of the success that we’ve been having in Argentina over to Spain with us next week! I’ve not properly experienced the Ford Fiesta RS WRC on asphalt – there were a couple of stages at Rally Argentina that had some asphalt mixed in with gravel but the car was in a gravel set-up. I have no idea what the car will feel like in full asphalt spec but I’m looking forward to the challenge. This is my last event of the season so I want to do my best and hopefully we will finish the season with a good result.”