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Gardemeister “closer every event”

"We have a very good chance to be better"

By

9 September 2011 - 20:11

Toni Gardemeister gained a much-needed boost in the shakedown for this weekend’s Canon Mecsek Rallye, round eight of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Gardemeister, who is running his own TGS Worldwide team in the IRC this year, bounced back from the disappointment of a double clutch failure in the previous round by setting the fastest time in the first run through the 3.7km shakedown stage. By the end of the session he was eighth quickest overall.

“I was very happy from the start with the set-up and the tyres,” said Gardemeister. “We were surprisingly fast – in the first run I think we were fastest. We went even quicker later but then so did everybody else.

“I’m quite confident for this event now. For sure we have to fight a lot if we want to be at the same level as the manufacturer teams, but if we can get a little bit closer at every event we can be very pleased with that.

“Okay, this event is new for everybody and that will help us a bit. And I’ve been learning a lot about the car. So we have a very good chance to be better – maybe even much better – than at previous IRC events."

The Canon Mecsek Rallye begins today (Friday) with a short prologue stage following the ceremonial start in Pécs town square. The prologue will not count towards the overall standings but the fastest driver through it will be presented with a trophy on Sunday.