He is changing his navigator, but like last year, Mads Östberg, the Norwegian driver of Citroën Rally Team Hungary, will start this season in the Mercarius National Rally Championship.
Patrik Barth of Sweden will be the navigator of the 2020 winner of the WRC2 category of the World Rally Championship this season, according to a statement from Citroën Rally Team Hungary on Monday.
Östberg, 34, was able to start five of the seven races in the Hungarian championship last season, finishing third in the overall standings. In Nyíregyháza and its surroundings, he won the Rally Hungary organized together with the Hungarian station of the European Rally Championship (ERC), and this year he will compete for the championship title.
"There are very technical tracks in the Hungarian championship, which I especially like, and there are very fast stages, maybe sometimes too fast," said Östberg, who said his personal favorite was the fight in Pécs, where he had his first Hungarian championship success. "We were able to race there in a very nice environment, among friendly people, on sensational speed stages, but there were really good moments in every race. That's why I had a good time, so I decided to continue racing in Hungary."
The Norwegian pilot pointed out that despite the coronavirus epidemic, there were a lot of spectators at the races: "I hope there will be more this year and we can meet even more in the service parks. Thank you for the love we have received so far!"
Östberg will start the Citroën C3 Rally2 race car at the ob, which he thinks is very good, but he said they won’t have an easy time because their opponents - whom he especially respects - are very strong.
Speaking to MTI, Gyárfás Oláh, the president of the Hungarian National Motorsport Association (MNASZ), said that it was a great honor for a world champion rally driver to spend his second season in Hungary.
"It also shows how high the Hungarian championship is, and besides, the start of Mads Östberg is another challenge for the Hungarian competitors, who are not short of anyway," said the president of MNASZ.
The Mercarius Hungarian Rally Championship will start in Salgótarján on March 25-26, and then six more races are planned, the last one will be held in and around Zemplén in mid-November.
(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)