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Tsouloftas a strong second after ERC firsts

Alexandros Tsouloftas made a strong start to life in the FIA ERC1 Junior Championship with second place on his debut last weekend.

Cypriot Tsouloftas, who was competing on the Azores Rallye and at the wheel of his ŠKODA Fabia R5 for the first time, completed a memorable 1-2 finish for the Toksport WRT squad behind team-mate Chris Ingram.

“Starting first on the road on Thursday, my first time here, first time in this car, was the hardest thing I’ve done so far and it was a struggle, really taking us back mentally,” said Tsouloftas, who took to rallying when injury halted his promising career in powerlifting and strongest man competitions. “It was very slippery and we didn’t have the confidence. I’ve never experienced such narrow stages but everything started getting better and better with every kilometre.

“I was really happy with our pace on Friday and Saturday was way better. We started to build up our confidence and the atmosphere on the stages was just amazing. Sete Cidades was unbelievable, the people, the atmosphere, the helicopter, the cameras. It made you feel like a professional driver and it made me realise that I’m really lucky to be in the ERC this year.

“I never thought about it being so difficult but the experience has been so good.”

Zdroj: fiaerc.com