Máté Geiger: „Mecsek is my homeland”  

Máté Geiger has only just entered the age of Christ, but we can still say that he is the key player of Pécs rallying. Although he has not yet had the opportunity to step up a level from the regional or rally sprint championships, he is looking forward to his first rally2 season this year. The partial results proved his talent, and his uncontroversial pace only increased his popularity with the fans. Even though scoring points has so far eluded him…

 – Unfortunately, that’s the way it is. Overall, I can say that both times I was fooled by technique, but I must admit that I was involved in one of them. I started confidently in the season-opening race in Orfű, leading through four races when the gearbox stopped. It was a big disappointment, but thankfully not to the team leaders and supporters. This gave me the continued confidence I needed to make the most of my time in Eger – Máté begins modestly.

– But I made a mistake, I didn’t switch off the car at night, which didn’t start in the morning in the parc fermé as I would have liked. There was no other way, we had to use outside help to fix it, which would later have got us disqualified by the Supervisory Committee, so we didn’t think it was fair to continue racing, thus misleading our opponents. We therefore handed in our pass just after winning the fifth rapid… – he recalls sadly.

– I have a car this year that has a great engine and now a gearbox. I can thank the enthusiastic team around me, Gábor Galambos and of course my father. It would be nice to have a good result already. Maybe at the Mecsek Rallye, which will not bring us any rally2 championship points, but my team leader, András Kósa, in agreement with the supporters, entered me with the intention of learning and motivation. I am happy to face another challenge, because Mecsek is my home – smiles Máté.

– I’ve never done such a long race before, but I’m ready. It’s going to be a pleasure to drive in front of our fans, but I’m also taking it seriously, because I really need the experience and the kilometres. We’ll be going in the dark and on a narrow forest track, it’s going to be a challenge for sure. I hope the car can handle it, now I want to finish anyway, and of course I’ll have a look at the overall ranking sometimes to see where the computer puts us… – Máté Geiger laughed with a twinkle in his eye at the end.