21-year-old Austrian driver Nikolai Landa had a nightmare of a start to his season when he rolled his Ford Fiesta Rally4 on Rally Velenje.
Despite being shaken up from what have happened, Landa has put the crash behind him to switch focus to the upcoming Rally di Roma Capitale, where he will be debuting in the ERC3 Junior class.
Landa used Rally Velenje in Slovenia for preparation for the FIA European Rally Championship season-opener in Italy, and his DirtCompany Rally Team have repaired the car fully so he and his father and co-driver Günter Landa are able to compete this weekend.
“We decided to drive Rally Velenje in Slovenia for preparation but this ended in our first roll ever,” Landa said on his accident.
“This was not the outcome I would have hoped for but we still learned so much and are very grateful to have such a world class team by our side [because] the car will be fully repaired.“
Landa still believes he needs to regain his confidence after the crash but is hoping for a strong result in what is set to be a very competitive class in Italy.
“My aim for Rally di Roma Capitale is to learn as much as possible, have fun and find my confidence again after the crash in Slovenia. I’m aware of that the guys in ERC3 Junior will be extremely fast and have more experience than me in a race car. However, I am still aiming for a solid rally and in the end, we will see where we stand at the finish line. I can’t wait to drive my first ERC3 Junior event,” Landa added.
