Autosportfoto

Bring on the predictable, says ERC contender Bostanci

Murat Bostanci can't wait to tackle the upcoming Rally Islas Canarias - because he expects the asphalt event to be far easier to call than the Azores Airlines Rallye.

Bostanci, part of the Castrol Ford Team Turkey outfit, endured a tough start to his multi-event FIA European Rally Championship campaign in the mid-Atlantic earlier this month, dropping out of top-10 contention due to accident damage. But he persevered amid the changeable and demanding weather conditions and reached the finish in P17 to gain crucial experience for the future.

"It was one of the most difficult rallies I've ever done," Bostanci said of his Azores experience. "Okay I heard it was a difficult rally but I wasn't expecting something like this. We've had a lot of problems and I've done too many mistakes. Even though it was one of my worst rallies ever, it was a good learning rally and without the problems I could have been seventh or eighth, which is not bad for my first Azores Rallye."

Although Bostanci has less experience on Tarmac events, he expects a more straightforward outing in the Canary Islands when the ERC resumes from 4-6 May.

"Canarias is a more predictable rally than the Azores because if you have a good line and good pacenotes you can push there and I'm hopeful for a good result," said Bostanci, who finished sixth in ERC3 on the event last season.

Bostanci's team-mate, Buǧra Banaz, was also in action in the Azores and placed fifth in the ERC Junior Under 27 category. "It was a very good rally but a very tough rally, the most difficult rally I have ever made," he said. "It was very good experience for us with the fog and mud. We were competitive with the other guys before we hit the rock but after this accident we lost a lot of time and we decided to come to the finish, which was our target. We are happy to come to the finish."

Zdroj: fiaerc.com