Abel trial hat-trick
Lagonda LG45 driver John Abel (above) will try and complete a hat-trick of wins on next week’s Royal Automobile Club 1000Mile Trial. Abel’s 1937 car heads more than 40 cars into five days of competition, starting in Edinburgh and finishing at Woodcote Park in Surrey. The final day starts with a series of special tests at Goodwood. Spectator information is at heroevents.eu
Do you remember hitting anything in the stage?
“I don’t know if I hit something, but the tyre went down quickly, then it went off the rim. I knew we had to keep on pushing and we had some really nasty moments when I was trying not to lose too much time.”
“We had some of this on this event last year, when we were leading then finished third. At the time, when I was in the stage, it was difficult to take. But you have to get on with it and do your job, there’s nothing else to do and, looking at the bigger picture, we got second place.it’s just so frustrating that we had this one in our hands…” “If we have the same package that I had here, then yes, why not? Finland’s not the same place, it can be more tricky, but the car and the tyres were perfect for me in Poland. I didn’t make a single mistake, not one and I always had the feeling that I could go a little bit harder if needed. That’s what we need if we’re going to try to win Finland. It shouldn’t be too hard to find that feeling again, it was a puncture – it’s not like we crashed.”
Sweden and now I have to go to Finland and start where I finished here. I have to move forward again. While I don’t have much experience in the car, it’s about making small steps.”
Breen has competed in Jyvaskyla six times, four of those in a four-wheel-drive car.
“I’ve got a lot of experience in Finland,” he said, “it’s the event I know the best in the championship and I’m more confident and comfortable going there with my first gravel rally [in 2016] under my belt. I’m not making any predictions, but I want a good run.”
Beyond confirming Breen’s Finland outing with the squad, deputy team principal Marek Nawarecki couldn’t shed any additional light on the progress Breen or Lefebvre was making towards a fulltime seat next season.
“We are very pleased with what both the drivers did here,” he said. “They got to the finish and saw the complete range of conditions, dealing with the heat on days one and two and the changing road surface to the heavy rain today.
“It’s too early to talk about next year, they are still in the learning process. We don’t have a clear view yet for next season. We start this process, but it’s a long one.”