Sunday 6 November 2011

Cristofaro gets a taste of 2012 dream with Skoda shakedown

Milford Haven rally driver Nick Cristofaro last week enjoyed his first experience of the car that he hopes to compete in next year when he tested TEG Sport’s new Skoda Fabia R2.

Cristofaro, 18, travelled to TEG Sport’s Lancashire base from his South Wales home to help finish the preparation work on the two cars that TEG have had delivered.

Once that was complete the team headed to a race track in Cumbria for the first tarmac test of the car which will be campaigned in next year’s British Rally Championship.

Cristofaro and fellow teenage driver Arron Newby took on the driving duties, successfully completing around 50 miles on the twisty circuit.

“I was extremely excited and had a few sleepless nights when I was asked to test the Skoda,” commented Cristofaro. “I could not believe how the car looked, it was like a mini-World Rally Car. Skoda Motorsport have obviously put a lot of thought into the design and build of the car.”

“We started the test by running in all the components as the car was fresh out of the box. It was an absolute pleasure to drive and no matter how hard I pushed the car would grip. The flat-shift sequential gearbox was outstanding and it added to the excitement of driving the car.”

After narrowly missing out on winning the Fiesta ST championship this year when his car suffered mechanical problems on the final round Cristofaro is hoping to use a Fabia in the British Rally Championship in 2012 but he needs to find funds to support the drive.

“The test has made me even more determined to get the funding together to compete in the Fabia next year. With this car and the TEG Sport team I think I can get some seriously good results. I hope there is someone out there who noticed my performances in an outdated car last year who will help me achieve my goals in motorsport.”

Please visit www.nickcristofaro.co.uk for more information on Cristofaro’s rallying or join the Facebook group at www.facebook.com/nickcristofarorallying.