Toyota’s Jari-Matti Latvala, Hyundai’s Cyril Abiteboul, and M-Sport Ford’s Richard Millener jumped into their drivers’ cars during the shakedown of the Safari Rally in Kenya.
Cyril Abiteboul, who switched from Formula1 to rally, was utterly astonished after his experience. It was his first time in Hyundai’s Rally1 car.
The ride was offered by the team’s star driver and the 2019 world champion, Ott Tänak.
“That was beyond imagination,” Abiteboul said, according to the FIA World Rally Championship official website.
“That’s the only thing I can say. I simply don’t get how they can anticipate what corner is coming, that’s mind-blowing. I’ve been doing some stuff in my life, I’ve been very privileged to do some amazing stuff, but that’s just on another level,” Abiteboul continued.
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Richard Millener’s experience was also new, although rally is, of course, quite a familiar sport for him.
“When (the drivers) come back and say they’ve broken the car, now I know why,” Millener chuckled.
“But the crazy thing is, if you don’t push that hard, you’re not fast enough,” Millener observed, amazed by the speed of the current cars.
Millener’s ride was offered by M-Sport’s French driver Adrien Fourmaux.
“That was absolutely insane, these cars are unbelievable. The speed, the power and everything, they are mega. If anyone gets a chance to do this, they should do it. I was so lucky to do that, it was a lot of fun,” Millener continued.
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Jari-Matti Latvala had a long career in the World Rally Championship and has grabbed the rally car’s wheel many times after his career, but still, the ride offered by Elfyn Evans was a unique experience.
“I am used to driving fast, but I can’t do what he (Evans) was doing now,” Latvala chuckled.
“I mean, the confidence, the commitment, the performance of the car, having all of that together is an amazing feeling. Wow!” Latvala praised.
You can watch the video of the rides offered to the team principals in the Instagram embed below.
