Tristan Charpentier’s Rally Portugal was a positive learning trip
KMS Racing competed in the WRC Rally Portugal last weekend with the French talent Tristan Charpentier. Despite setbacks early in the rally, the rally gave Charpentier a lot of valuable experience.
The official M-Sport Partner in Finland, KMS Racing, competed last weekend in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal with the French rally driver Tristan Charpentier. The 23-year-old Frenchman, alongside his compatriot Florian Barral, finished sixth in WRC3.
The French talent’s career-second WRC event got off to a good start on the first set of stages on Friday until SS8, when three punctures against two spare tires haulted the Frenchman on stage. Continuing with the Super Rally rule on Saturday, Charpentier gathered all the experience from the event. The experience paid off, as Charpentier managed to finish the enormous, over 37 kilometres long Amarante 2 stage with a second fastest time.
-I think it was really good experience overall, because now I’m able to see how the road surface evolves on the second pass in WRC, and it’s good experience to have. Another thing we need to take as positive is that whilst I did not know what to expect, we managed to do some quite good times, put second and third fastest times on board, and our pace was good. It was quite positive weekend even though we ha some bad luck, Charpentier explained.
KMS Racing and Tristan Charpentier continue their competitive season in ERC Sweden. Next up on KMS Racing’s calendar is the fourth round of FRC, SM Mad-Croc Länsirannikon Ralli.
Vodafone Rally de Portugal results – WRC3:
1. Diego Dominguez 4:09:54,7 Ford Fiesta Rally3 PRY
2. Matteo Chatillon +48,9 Renault Clio Rally3 FRA
3. Bruno Bulacia +2:46,7 Ford Firsta Rally3 BOL
6. Tristan Charpentier +23:46,6 Ford Fiesta Rally3 FRA
Photo: @World
