Lorenzo Bertelli was supposed to drive M-Sport’s fourth Ford Puma at the WRC rally in Sweden – but a fashion show interfered
Lorenzo Bertelli must have been looking forward to his Rally1 entry in M-Sport’s Ford Puma at the round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Sweden, but now the deal has fallen through. The semi-professional has to skip the guest appearance on 24 to 27 February because he is indispensable at a fashion show. The Italian works in the fashion industry and therefore cannot skip the event.
M-Sport will enter only three instead of four planned Pumas in the second round of the 2022 WRC season because the “Milan Fashion Week” has thwarted Bertelli’s plans. The 33-year-old has already competed twice in the WRC for M-Sport last year: at the Arctic Rally in Finland and the Safari Rally in Kenya. Since 2011, the Italian has competed sporadically in the WRC.
Nothing changes for the full-time drivers of the Ford racing team: Craig Breen, Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux, who is wrenching on the rebuild of the car himself after his crash at the season opener in Monte Carlo, are ready to score points for M-Sport for the manufacturers’ championship. According to team boss Richard Millener, Bertelli may get the chance to make up for his efforts later in the season.
“The event will feature three cars,” he said. “I hope he will be back in the future, but it depends a lot on his work schedule. It’s not a big difference for us, but it’s a shame because we would have loved to have him there and it would have been great to have another semi-pro in the car, but sometimes that’s just the way it is. “
