M-Sport’s Eric Camilli had a steady Day 2 of the 2016 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, as he continues to learn the stages ahead of a return next year.
After his costly double puncture on Day 1, the young Frenchman had little to fight for, so he opted for a mature approach which yielded some positive results.
He secured tenth place from leading WRC2 competitor Esapekka Lappi and firmly secured himself in that position as the day went on.
Throughout the day, the Frenchman was able to match the pace the more experienced Citroën Kris Meeke, Hyundai’s Dani Sordo, as well as team-mate Mads Østberg.
He is more than three minutes down on his team-mate in seventh, but over 40 seconds off Stéphane Lefebvre in ninth.
Keen to get the maximum out of the weekend, Camilli plans to continue in the same vein tomorrow so as to be as prepared as possible when he returns next year.
“It’s been a good day for us, with proper Wales Rally GB conditions,” he said.
“It’s not been easy of course, but after the time loss yesterday we decided to take it steady to learn the stages and have really enjoyed the day.
“At times we pushed and were able to match the likes of Mads, Kris and Dani. They have a lot of experience here in a World Rally Car – and I have none – so that was very good to see.
“Of course there’s still a long way to go before we can be setting the sort of pace that Sebastién (Ogier) and Ott ( Tänak) are setting up front, but this is a very good start and a good step ahead of next year.”