Lajtai Zsolt idén sem hagyja ki a Mecsek Rallye-t

Zsolt Lajtai will not miss the Mecsek Rallye this year either

Zsolt Lajtai and Máté Matulik start the Mecsek Rallye with a red Mitsubishi Lancer. The driver from Pécs can surprise you with any car on his home track at any time, it will be worth paying attention to him!

Where did the Escort go?

We have it, and that car is fantastic, but now we had the opportunity to get a car that we owe to Tibor Sziklai and his team. This is an Evo VII Mitsubishi, an A car with a seco transmission. I have to tell you, it's a mix between a spaceship and a fighter jet, so that car is awesome. Obviously we're friends now, I'm friends with him. The car is so flat, it's not easy to drive in a straight line - and I'm saying this seriously - its chassis is so tight. This is the car we should try to befriend as much as possible. We're preparing for a test today, and I'm confident that we'll get a little closer by the evening. Actually, the car is a challenge in itself, but I have to say that the weather is also fantastically tough. If it's hot outside, at least double it to feel what's inside the car. It's really trying, but we're trying to prepare as much as possible for this competition, just like we have been doing so far. I want to gain experiences. Time can never be turned back, and we don't look back. I should be sitting in a car like this for a long time, but that's okay, now I've succeeded, and we're trying to give each other very pleasant experiences.

The 54th Mecsek Rally is coming. How many will it be for you?

Thanks for the question, we thought about it last time. I sat in a car for the first time at the 18th Mecsek Rallye, something like that. It will be a very tough competition. Weather factors affect a lot of things. I have to say honestly that I don't understand Friday night. Think about how everyone gets up on Friday morning, does their own protocol, and when everyone would actually start spending their rest time, you get into the car at 10:30 in the evening and you have to stand still at a different speed. This is for the entire field, and it's a speedster. I think that this is not the most fortunate, but whatever, it is, you know, you have to be happy about everything, and besides all that, on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. it's fast. It's very tough. This requires maximum dedication, preparation, and humility. You have to put in a lot of effort, as in everything, but now it's a little more peppered.

Sokadik Mecsek Rallye for you, you yourself couldn't count exactly how many, but someone will be missing this year. How do you remember István Jelen?

I knew Pisti since his arrival in Pécs. When he first introduced me to Volán, how he got there... Nice memory! Tamás Berki managed it from the first minute, and of course he was an indispensable and emblematic figure of the Mecsek Rallye. He left early, I'm so sorry, obviously you keep him in your heart. There were times when we had a closer relationship with Pisti, but the relationship between the two of us was always positive. I was surprised by the news when I heard it, and obviously because of the pandemic, it was not possible to commemorate István as it should have been, and as everyone, from the Volán group of friends to the people of Pécs to the entire car society, would have liked. But everything will fall into place, we remember István with love.

With the Ford, you always caused big surprises at the Mecse, now with this Mitsubishi we can also expect some outstanding times from Zsolt Lajtai?

Look, actually, yes, with the Ford too, especially if it rained, we were able to eliminate the differences a little bit, like the one between the Mitsubishis and my car. Then in 2019, at the Mecsek Rallye, I managed to get into a Mitsubishi Evo 9 with the Zsolti Svatek team, and there those who might have forgotten could be confronted with the fact that I'm still here. Regardless of the fact that we had a small technical error, we got to second place and I enjoyed every moment. I have to say that now it's a bit more serious. Everything really depends on how our preparation will come together for the test, and I am very confident that we will start to get closer to each other. The interesting thing is that the calendar goes forward, and I still somehow feel that if I sit in the car, hold the steering wheel and drive, then I was able to preserve something of what was long ago. I don't know how it is. Robi Bútor asked me a few months ago what happened to time, and all I could say was that when I get into the car, time stops. Then there is only what I have to deal with then and there. Humility, maximalism and good feelings. Actually, I'm looking forward to the good experiences. The experience is mine, ours. If we somehow manage to make friends with the car, with great respect, then I trust that there will be good times. I say this plane is a rocket. Well, the weather is now included, we looked at the forecasts, and if various thunderstorm stories fall into this, it will completely upset the course. What kind of tires do you put on, whether you succeed, whether it rained or not, whether you caught it at the start or not, so this will be a small race with many factors. But we trust that everything will be fine.