The adventures of Russians in Italy began: the RPM team crews start at the fifth FIA ERC round
The struggle of Russian Performance Motorsport crews for the main European rally awards continues! Both of them participate in the fifth round of the FIA European Rally Championship, Rally di Roma Capitale: Alexey Lukyanuk and Alexey Arnautov – in the overall standing; Sergei Remennik and Mark Rozin – in the ERC-2 Production category.
Uralians Remennik and Rozin go to the start as the category leaders – the crew scored 89 points for the previous stages; and they are 10 points ahead of their main rival – Hungarian Tibor Erdi. Let us remind you that Sergei and Mark missed the last stage due to the main job and specifically expanded the program of performances for the current season in order to keep the opportunity to fight for the championship title, adding two more stages to it.
Lukyanuk/Arnautov crew has 83 points in the general classification and will try to earn more to approach Bruno Magalhães, the series overall leader, with 98 points.
On Wednesday, 18 July, the participants were offered a part of the route for the recce; then the next day they made notes at the remaining special stages, and in the evening the official test races and the qualifying special stage were held.
Alexey Lukyanuk (driver), “Before the qualification race we had certain expectations that we would not be in the TOP: local drivers gave such unambiguous signals that they would “bring” Nikolay Gryazin a second from a kilometer at their home races. But in the end he won this race, and we were in just one tenth of a second behind him: the same situation as in the Canaries! And it’s very good, I’m in a festive mood – now I don’t have to worry about the first starting position and can quietly sleep at night. We worked a little with the car settings – as usual during the tests we didn’t manage to adjust everything well, but as it turned out, these new settings were not the most optimal ones. After the first part of the recce we went to the service and changed the settings, so I drove more confidently and even enjoyed it, because I worried for the first time. The mood is excellent, the weather is good”.
Windy passions ran high a few days before the competition start in another RPM team crew: the participation of the Yekaterinburg crew was in jeopardy at some point due to the absence of one of the main components of this technical sport – the car. And it was a real adventure!
On Monday (16 July) bad news came in the afternoon – Sergei Remennik crashed the car during preliminary tests; the received damages were not subject to rapid elimination. In the evening of the same day the team offered to take another car from the Mitsubishi line, sent it to Italy from Latvia, and early in the morning on Wednesday, 18 July, after 36 hours and 2,500 km the car arrived to the service park in Fiuggi.
As soon as it was possible – in just 16 hours (!) – the team managed to change the configuration settings from gravel to asphalt, and the technical inspection was successfully passed. The only thing that the mechanics did not have time to do was to reglue the livery, so do not be surprised by the unusual car coloring.
After the recce Mark Rozin, the crew co-driver, shared his impressions – the route is very different from last year’s one, only a couple of special stages look similar, the rest are new ones. Many notes and clarifications were made; it was not possible to use last year’s notebook with the transcript, so while the team was completing work on the car settings, Mark devoted the whole evening before the start of the “calligraphy”.
Sergei Remennik (driver), “During the recce Mark and I screwed everything in the car so that it was convenient, because at first everything was very strange and uncomfortable; the second time it was not so uncomfortable, and the third time we almost got used! In general everything is fine: we have the car, mechanics pay attention to our remarks about the settings, so the vehicle goes well. We will observe the opposition of local and our racers (two Alekseys and Nikolay and Yaroslav) from the front row; it will be very interesting. And in our category everything is steady. And, taking this opportunity, we would like to express our great gratitude to the team of mechanics and all those people who have made this start possible!”
Ceremonial start took place on Friday at the Castel Sant’Angelo walls in Rome, after which the crews went to the track, although the first competitive day was short: just one spectator special stage with a length of 1.80 km.
On Saturday, 21 July, racers will have to overcome three sections with a total length of 513.91 km: two of them contain three stages each, and the third includes only the final special stage of the day. The total distance of competitive sections is 98 km.
Additional information:
Rally di Roma Capitale 2018
Starts: 16h45, Friday 20 July, Castel Sant’Angelo, Roma
Finishes: 19h30, Sunday 22 July, Ostia Pontile, Roma
Headquarters: Grand Hotel Palazzo della Fonte, Via dei Villini 7, 03014 Fiuggi (FR)
Service park: Terme di Fiuggi, Parcheggio Fonte Anticolana, 03014 Fiuggi (FR)
(GPS: N-41°47.356′, E-13°12.828′)
ERC appearances (since 2004 restructuring): 1 (2017)
Stages: 15
Stage distance: 205.97 kilometres (99.82 kilometres leg one, 106.15 kilometres leg two)
Liaison: 761.15 kilometres
Total: 967.12 kilometres
Surface: Asphalt
Free Practice (for priority drivers): 14h00-16h00, Thursday 19 July (4.02 kilometres, Fumone, Frosinone)
Qualifying Stage (for priority drivers): 16h30, Thursday 19 July (4.02 kilometres, Fumone, Frosinone)
Shakedown (for all drivers): 18h00-20h30, Thursday 19 July (4.02 kilometres, Fumone, Frosinone)
Start order selection: 14h00-14h45, Friday 20 July, Restaurante Giolitti EUR, Roma
Ceremonial start and Tour di Roma: 16h45, Castel Sant’Angelo, Roma
Follow the results online: https://www.fiaerc.com/live-timing/
Sports ranks in Russia are titles officially approved by the state, reflecting the level of the sportsman career in Olympic or other sports fields, his personal or team achievements. Sports titles are awarded for achievements in official sports competitions, provided that the established sports standards are met. To award the International Master of Sports rank the norms and requirements are met with the mandatory participation of the sportsman in official international competitions, where he performed and got titles.
Sergei Remennik, driver, “We are very sorry that we can’t attend one of the most beautiful races of this season. We liked Cyprus Rally very much last year! A complicated track with dusty trails is a main feature of the Cyprus race, and it’s interesting. It’s not about speed, but about finding a balance on the verge of vehicle endurance and reasonable acceleration. Therefore, overcoming complex special stages leaves a sense of satisfaction as from well-done work. 
Only one Russian Performance Motorsport team crew starts in Cyprus – Alexey Lukyanuk and Alexey Arnautov in the Ford Fiesta R5. They are going to defend their leading position in the European racing series overall standings.
Alexey Lukyanuk, the European Championship main favorite, won the first day of the race on Friday, but Saturday morning brought troubles to the crew – the broken suspension arm of the Fiesta R5 and decided to retire and continued the race on Sunday with the help of Rally 2 system with a large fine for missed special stages. On the final day Lukyanuk showed his driving skills and received seven bonus points for the victory at the end of the day, so Petersburgers are still the series leaders – they have 83 points against 69 of Bruno Magalhães, who was able to win the race in Greece.
Alexey Lukyanuk, driver (Ford Fiesta R5), “On the second day, on Sunday, we had the task to score as many points as possible, namely for the day (maximum 7 points) and to take as many points as possible from Bruno Magalhães. Fortunately, we did it. Although at the first stage we had a problem with the brakes overheating – the brake fluid boiled. Then we “bled” the brakes; everything was perfect until the end of the day, there were no problems. Also, in a very narrow place of that SS I slipped and hit the tree with the rear wheel. I didn’t expect that it would be so loose there. I’ve damaged the hub, but we reached the finish line, losing a little time. It was a bit uncomfortable at first because of the brakes, but then we went at our own pace; the notes were good, we enjoyed driving. We were ahead of all the closest competitors for a minute. 
Sergei Remennik, the second RPM team driver, faced fewer problems in Greece, but surprised himself on Saturday, when he managed to puncture the same tyre twice at one special stage. According to Sergei, he has never changed the tyres as many times as in Greece. However, the flat tyres did not prevent the crew from entering the ERC-2 top three and finishing the difficult race on the second position.
Sergei Remennik, driver (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X), “Finish at the Acropolis rally is a special experience, and I would like to repeat it! Two special stages before the finish line our competitor Tibor Erdi drove confidently ahead, which includes our tyre punctures. And there were three of us behind him: Juan Carlos Alonso, Petros Panteli and our crew, all in 10 seconds. After the day service there were two more stages, where we mobilized energy and pushed hard. Psychological pressure was incredibly strong, but it seems that we pushed more. Alonso didn’t cope with it (he went off the track at the final special stage), and Panteli had problems with his car. 
Following the three FIA ERC rounds, Lukyanuk and Arnautov remain the series leaders in the overall standings; while Sergei Remennik and Mark Rozin, having secured the second place in three rounds, keep the lead in the “Production” category.
Alexey Lukyanuk, driver, “It was clear that it was necessary to play a backlog somehow in order to rise in the day results. So we’ve gone! I don’t know what others did, because I was cautious in places, and sometimes I drove normally. We have the very good pace notes; and it’s great that we drive quickly from the first pass at the new special stages for everyone – this road has never been used. Of course, I’m pretty much tired, my hands ached at the end… but when we finished we felt that we were working!”
A full racing day, the results of which will go to the bonus points, started only on Saturday. It sound really epically, but the day special stages were located only ten kilometers from the historical site of the Thermopylae – the most famous battle of antiquity. In European culture, when it is mentioned, first of all the valor and courage of the Hellenes are emphasized.
During Saturday the goddess of luck and destiny were showing all the variability of the world, its instability and chance, having thinned out the field. At SS-5 Alexey Lukyanuk and Alexey Arnautov were lucky enough to fix the suspension malfunction. The lever replacement directly at the stage – it took more than 14 minutes, the broken drive and the risk of not arriving to the TC on time led to the crew decision on retirement and return to the team location. Tomorrow guys will start with the help of “rally2” system.
Sergei Remennik, driver, “The race is cool, I’m very pleased to finish the day, because we had an open gestalt from last year (laughing). Everything is fine, but we had a puncture at today’s second stage – we lost the front left wheel, it was very unpleasant. So we lost all hope for fighting with Tibor Erdi. But, frankly speaking, we didn’t push hard on these stones; when I saw the stones, I slowed down, trying to ride carefully. But nevertheless, we somehow managed to puncture the tyre. And the car got some damage after that – we slid to the rock and I, as I could, pulled the forecarriage from the stones, but the rear end still hit. At the next stage we also punched the rear tyre, but it was purely my fault – I drove too optimistically shortly before the finish.
On Sunday the participants will tackle two different special stages that they will pass twice a day and 81 kilometers of competitive distance. And in the afternoon there will be a ceremonial finish and the prize-giving in Lamia.
Alexey Lukyanuk, driver, “In general, I think everyone increased their speed significantly. Last year we competed only with Magalhaes and Kajetanowicz, who then finished second and third. Okay, now Magalhaes had problems with the car, but a bunch of young drivers added a lot in pace. Nikolay Gryazin also finally accelerated, he is approaching. It’s cool for us, that he is so close. I expected that it would be a little more difficult to fight. We have also learned something from the past and, on the whole, we conducted this race very confidently, practically without any mistakes. The tyres are amazing; I don’t know why people use others. For these conditions Pirellis are ideal, and we have chosen the composition for each section well. Everything is super here”.
Asphalt rally is a heavy test for production vehicles. After three Saturday special stages the crew of Juan Carlos Alonso refused to fight, although by that time it firmly established on the second position. The mechanics could not retrieve the gearbox and did not release the crew to the final section of the rally. And for almost thirty kilometers to the finish of the rally there was a message that the Subaru Impreza of Zelindo Melegari stopped at the special stage – a technical problem with the engine and also a retirement.
Sergei Remennik, driver, «“Of course, I would like to conduct the race and climb the podium in a different manner, in the fight. But it turned out as it turned out. And maybe there is some universal justice: for the broken yesterday’s power steering, today everything went very smoothly. Unfortunately, the failures of our rivals have pushed us to the podium. And, as we counted, now we have risen to the first place in the championship standings. 
Following the two rounds results, the Russian Performance Motorsport team tops the championship, and the crews are the leaders – Alexey Lukyanuk and Alexey Arnautov in the overall standings, Sergei Remennik and Mark Rozin in the ERC-2 Production class.
Alexey Lukyanuk, driver, “We are at the service, the first day is over. I think the day was almost ideal for us. We chose the tires successfully, we were lucky enough with the weather because it was wet in the morning and the road dried up quickly to our starting position – we could attack well. Our competitors made a mistake with the tyre choice, and, fortunately, our pace is still higher. Nothing lasts forever, but we are in a good shape, the car works properly, the tyres are super. So everything is fine today for us. In the morning we had medium-hard tyres, and in the second half – very tough, the hardest. They worked perfectly, the road is very abrasive, it’s hot (the asphalt temperature is almost +50C). Everything worked as it should. In the morning on a wet track, probably, an average or soft composition would have worked better. We lost not so much at the second special stage, but there were a lot of wet places – we were careful. In general, on dry stretches we disengaged and played out much more than we lost on the wet ones. Everything turned out to be balanced”. 
The second team crew of Sergei Remennik and Mark Rozin could not boast of an excellent result – the power steering of their Mitsubishi Lancer broke at the fifth stage. Hydraulic system, allowing not to apply large forces when turning the steering wheel, remained without technical fluid due to the burst nozzle. This failure became a serious problem – driving the car at the special stage and along public roads – liaisons in a full of turns mountainous area turned into the most unpleasant moments of the race. Even for an athlete and physically trained sportsman it is extremely difficult to steer in such conditions.
On Saturday, from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, drivers will go to the final six stages of the race, the length of high-speed sections will be just over 100 kilometers; they will determine the leader of the FIA European Rally Championship second round.