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Lukyanuk: Tyre choices damaged ERC victory prospects

Russian driver Alexey Lukyanuk described his tyre choices for the first day of the FIA European Rally Championship as "a disaster" - even though he is only sitting 22 seconds off the overall lead with six stages still to run.

Lukyanuk's tyre choice was too soft in the morning and then he over-drove in the afternoon, despite having the correct choice for the conditions. Kajetan Kajetanowicz, on a softer Pirelli compound than his rival, instead managed to stretch his advantage.

"Today was all about tyres and I don't think I made the best decisions," said Lukyanuk. "I seemed to be on the wrong tyre at the wrong time and this cost me a lot of time and the chance to fight for the lead. It was a bit of a disaster, but at least I can learn for tomorrow."

With an advantage of nearly a minute and a half over Robert Consani in third, the Russian said that his priority was to conserve the runner-up spot and put himself in a strong position to capitalise on any possible mistakes from Kajetanowicz.

Zdroj: fiaerc.com