MATHIEU ARZENO IS STILL UPBEAT!

Mathieu Arzeno, who took part in the Mont Blanc Morzine rally this weekend, did not meet with the success he had hoped for. He had to retire at the third stage even as he sat in a promising and surprising second place of the 208 Rally Cup despite his lack of experience in this type of event. The previous “Espoir Echappement” was caught out, like several other contestants at this spot, by a slippery patch of tarmac just 600 metres from the finish of the third stage even though he was not at full throttle.

Mathieu was still in observation mode as Marc Dalmasso, the manager of Pit Stop France team who were assisting several cars on this rally, tells us:

“Mathieu was very comfortable with the car and we were perfecting some final details before going into full throttle as he intended. It was planned for the next day, Mathieu was still in observation mode. He was caught out, it happens. It wasn’t a good weekend for us as our two other cars ran into problems. It’s still positive as we were able to show we were competitive. We still have faith in Mathieu and the Pit Stop France team supports him fully.”

Mathieu Arzeno is obviously disappointed with the result but he looks on the bright side:

“I am disappointed for the team and my crew who put in a lot of effort to get me to the start of this rally. I knew the dangers but, despite taking relative care, the car went skidding off at the end of my brake and I couldn’t do anything about it. It’s a shame because I was in a good position without going into ‘the red’. I was in learning phase with regards to the eight sets of tyres we’re allowed to use and the gearbox was giving me some grief. The pace was good, in short everything was going well until I was stupidly caught out! I still have one reason to be happy because I can still get the performance despite giving up competition at this level at the end of 2012, it’s good for my confidence. The Pit Stop France team gave me an efficient car which was easy to drive. Charlotte Dalmasso, my co-driver did a good job and we are completely synched now. We have the means to aim for victory in the 208 Rally Cup. The future looks bright and I intend to play my part!”

Charlotte Dalmasso, his co-driver, concludes: “Huge disappointment after it started so well. Unfortunately a black patch did not let us finish what we’d started. Thanks to all the team and my driver for his trust and his talent!!! We will take the highlights with us for the rest of the competition, see you at Rally Antibes.”

The next meeting for the 208 Rally Cup is set to be the Rally Antibes from 11th to 13th October, Mathieu Arzeno will indeed have to pull out all stops to get the top result he desserves!