Last year, Canadian Leo Urlichich competed in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy of the FIA World Rally Championship, driving a Ford Fiesta R2 prepared by M-Sport.
Let’s be honest: It’s been a gruelling season for the Toronto resident. The fact that Urlichich needed to change co-drivers four times in five events (because of unexpected or medical issues) paid its toll. “If you look at the end result; yes, I admit, it’s been a terrible year,” “Crazy Leo” told Auto123.com. “However, I’ve learned a lot. Not especially on the driving side, but more on the business side. I found the other competitors and their entourage to be surprisingly nice folks. They are super knowledgeable people, and they are super committed.
“It was also great to see that my bespoke pace notes system worked well on the much trickier European stages. We’ve improved it even further, so I’m itching to see how it will work over here. “I never had that feeling that these [European] guys were unbeatable. When I looked at the data and crunched the numbers, I saw where I was able to gain time on them. I basically needed more seat time in the rally car,” Leo explained. And that takes us to the problem of getting enough sponsorship money to go rallying in Europe. “What struck me the most last year was the amount of money people were spending. Most rivals had tons of money. Such as one-make series is a good concept, but things are not equal because of the money factor,” he continued. “I spent just 12 days in the rally car while some other guys spent more than 50 days in various rally cars, competing in rallies held in their own countries, testing endlessly. They also could count on an entourage that handled all the non-driving stuff,” he confesses.
So what are his plans for 2015? “I was encouraged to do a second season in the Drive DMACK Trophy,” he declared. “However, I spent a lot of money last year. Can-Jam Motorsports paid most of the bills, and some people I knew helped me, too. But I’m still in debt. If I return to Europe, I’ll need a really big company behind me. That’s the only way to do it properly,” Leo told Auto123.com. “I’m now back in Toronto, and I’m together with Can-Jam we are working on a new project. If it works out, and with the experience I gained in Europe last year, I know I will perform very well,” “Crazy Leo” concluded.
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