2016 FIA European Rally Championship competitor Alexey Lukyanuk has reaffirmed his commitment to fighting for victory despite the fact that his championship rival Kajetan Kajetanowicz has a substantial lead in the series standings.
The Russian was speaking after his final stage drama on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin when he damaged the steering on his Ford Fiesta R5 on the final test losing ten minutes which dropped him from second to sixteenth. Defending his driving approach the Russian said he will be on maximum attack while he is still in with a chance of victory.
“The mood has improved, and given how quickly we went throughout the weekend, I’m still happy and even a little glad that we were able to show that kind of speed,” he said in the aftermath of the event.
“Before the start of the final stage the gap in front of us to Kopecký was less than five seconds and I felt that at a normal pace, we would be able to reduce the gap.
“Some will say that here it is necessary to just drive to the finish, but when after 200 kilometres you have only five seconds to get, it is not an option. It’s easy to give sermons from the couch, but if you’re an athlete, you’re going to go for victory.
“Next time I will fight until the last kilometre and continue to attack to the maximum, if there is such a possibility.”
Lukyanuk will compete in Latvia alongside Roman Kapustan and due to budget cuts will be stepping back into a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Despite the power advantage that championship rival Kajetanowicz will have in his Ford Fiesta R5 it is worth mentioning that the last time Lukyanuk made this transition was Rally Estonia last year, an event which he went on to win.
Rally Liepaja kicks off on September 16
