Breen/Nagle perform well but hampered by mechanical issues in the ORLEN 77th Rally Poland.
Team MRF Tyres showed great pace on the first full day of running at the FIA European Rally Championship’s opening round, the ORLEN 77th Rally Poland. Drivers Craig Breen with Paul Nagle would set-top four stage time and be in the hunt for a podium but bad luck would get in their way.
The day started well on the 18.20km Świętajno 1 where the Team MRF Tyres finished fourth. Better followed on the 17.16 km Olecko 1 stage, to take third.
However, a technical problem hampered the car on SS5, the long 28.70km Wieliczka test. More than a minute was lost and the team would have to fight back. The fightback began strongly taking a fourth on Świętajno 2 and another fourth on Olecko 2 to climb back to sixth place.
On SS7, at around 27km into the stage, a rock hidden on the line broke the rear suspension. There the day, and the chances for a good result ended.
However, the team did get good test miles for the continuing development of the next generation of MRF Tyres, while showing the outright pace in what is MRF Tyres’ second gravel rally in the FIA ERC.
Breen and Nagle will restart on Sunday to continue the development of the car and measure the performance against the best drivers and brands in the world.
For Italian Simone Campdedlli and his Swiss co-driver, Tania Canton, their rally would be short-lived.
The duo struck power steering problems in the qualifying stage and in SS1. The team replaced the system in an attempt to repair the issue, however, their attempts were in vain. Upon the systems checks prior to leaving service, the team confirmed the issue had returned, and given the fast and narrow nature of Orlen 77th Rally Poland, it was safer to retire the car. However, Campedelli will be back in action for Team MRF Tyres next week in the Italian Rally Championship – Gravel. For Breen and Nagle, they will be back in the car tomorrow for more testing and development for Team MRF Tyres.
Craig Breen, Hyundai i20 Rally2
“We were happy with the pace we had today. The tyres and the car were handled very well and we were always setting times inside the top four. We were happy that we could have gotten a top result for Team MRF Tyres.”
“It was unfortunate that we had a problem in the first loop but we were able to fix the car at service and come back. The Team MRF Tyres car was fast and we were climbing back up the standings. Then the suspension broke near the end of SS7 and that is where the day ended for us.”
“We will be back tomorrow. We are committed to getting as many test and development kilometers as we can. I am happy with the pace we showed here today.”
Simone Campedelli, VW Polo R5
“We had to stop at the end of SS1 yesterday as we had power steering failure. The issue would come and go and would not be predictable. We tried to fix it with the help of Volkswagen but it came back this morning. We decided we should stop as this rally has narrow roads and high average speeds and it would be unsafe to continue.”
“It is a big shame that we couldn’t get the test and development opportunity for Team MRF Tyres. I am also upset that I could not properly make my FIA ERC return in this round. We put in a big effort to get here.”
“But I am looking forward to getting back in the car in the Italian Championship next week in San Marino and getting back in the FIA ERC in Rome.”