Rally Liepāja turned into a case of what might have been for Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT driver Paulo Soria.
After winning the opening round of the all-new arrive-and-drive series for the Renault Clio Rally5 on MICHELIN tyres in Poland last month, the Argentine had high hopes for more success in Latvia.
But his bid for a second consecutive win quickly evaporated on the opening stage of the high-speed gravel event, round two of the 2021 FIA European Rally Championship.
“Near the end of the first stage we arrived a bit too late in a fast-left followed by a square-right,” Soria explained. “So I lost the front of the car, I only went half metre into a ditch but it was enough to leave me with no traction and wheelspin. It was only 5kph but we were stuck and it was a disaster. I felt very bad for that mistake.”
Undeterred, Soria restarted on day two and was fastest on five out of six stages. “We know on gravel we have the speed. Yesterday it was a mistake but today we were going quite well with a good pace.”
