Mathieu Arzeno will be at the start of the Mont Blanc Morzine Rally this weekend as part of the 208 Rally Cup which he joins mid championship, not an easy task. After a successful race in the Gap Racing Rally, the previous “Espoir Echappement” (voted Best Rookie for Echappement Magazine) continued his preparations when he took part in a test session last week in order to increase his chances of winning.
Marc Dalmasso, manager of the Pit Stop France team which prepares and assists with the car, is confident despite the difficulty of the task:
“We worked hard again. The test session allowed us to perfect the tuning on the Peugeot 208 and we reviewed all the technical solutions we were not able to try out at the Gap Racing Rally due to lack of time. We also improved his driving position. Mathieu has a good feel for the car and his natural talent should get him into the battle for victory! The whole Pit Stop France team is behind him, ready to beat this challenge, we have faith.”
Mathieu Arzeno, who has also worked hard on his physical fitness, feels as confident although he remains cautious:
“Even though I quickly found the pace of competition again, I am still cautious because it is a serious challenge. I feel quite relaxed though because we’ve worked hard and the car feels right for me, in short I feel ready. The competition is tough with some experienced drivers who also know the Peugeot 208 perfectly. I think our greatest handicap will be our racing strategy and the permitted number of tyres we can put to use. I know I can count on the whole Pit Stop France team and also on Charlotte Dalmasso, my co-driver to help me reach some lead positions. Even though I still need some familiarisation to get the automatic reflexes I had with Renaud, we are starting to reach that perfect understanding. Our objective is to fight for victory, but first and foremost I want to reach the end of this rally to build up experience for the last two races. I can’t wait to be on the rally starting line!”
If the result from the Gap Racing Rally and the test session have given Mathieu Arzeno more confidence with regards to his performance, he knows nevertheless that it won’t be easy up against drivers of the calibre of Stephane Lefevre, Kevin Abring or Stephane Cosani, and not least Cedric Cherain, his co-driver with Pit Stop France. A top result would help Mathieu Arzeno at this stage of his career and we can bet he will do everything to get there!
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