Sergio Fombona had the chance to talk live to the public in his home city, Gijon, about his experiences in the Swedish Rally which was his debut in the 2004 Production World Rally Championship. This first PWRC appearance resulted in a magnificent eight place in his class with Sergio scoring his first Championship point.
Sergio started by saying that for the entire rally his target was always just to finish, accumulate some competitive mileage and get used to his new car as, although he has already driven a Mitsubishi on gravel two years ago, it was an EVO VI and the EVO VII, with its active differential, behaves in quite a different way.
Obviously he expressed his satisfaction about the outcome of the rally and the final result obtained which encourages him for the next event, the Rally of Mexico. Here the high altitude will be a major problem for all the entrants with an estimated power loss in the region of 50 BHP for all the engines. However the special stages should suit him well as they are fast flowing gravel roads, something he likes a lot.
Speaking about fast stages, and elaborating on his comments about Sweden, Sergio explained that they registered speeds in excess of 120 mph, which on such slippery surfaces is really impressive. He also commented on the excellent organization of the event with every member of the Rally organisers being extremely helpful to the competitors, and the incredible "setup" of the rally with details such as a big video screen on the start/finish area where the spectators could follow the podium proceedings live.
Apart from Sergio the chat, chaired by Miguel Collado, also saw the attendance of the hillclimb drivers José Antonio López-Fombona, Oscar Palacio and Bernardo Cardín, rally driver Esteban Vallín, co-driver Enrique Velasco and the president of the Langreo Motor Club "Sasi" Pardeiro. All of them talked about several aspects of motor sport in front of quite a large crowd.