Atkinson desperate to show real pace

Chris Atkinson is frustrated that he has been unable to demonstrate his real pace so far in Italy.

The Australian set some competitive split times through the opening day of the Sardinian event, but he was a distant fifth overnight, having struggled with inconsistent handling.

The Motorsport Italia Mini’s only significant problem was a broken front differential, which set to be replaced in end of day service.

“We’ve been having technical problems with the car all day,” said Atkinson. “We’re making changes to it tonight, but I just don’t have the confidence.

“The car’s not consistent at all. Look at the last stage, we were really close with [Evgeny] Novikov and Ott [Tanak] for the first 10km and then we dropped a lot of time.

“We’ve had a fifth-gear spin and that’s what’s likely to happen when I’m pushing on with inconsistent handling.

“I know what I can do and I know I’m a better driver than the times we’re doing. I’ve got this chance to show what I can do and it’s frustrating as hell not to be able to do it.

“The team’s working hard, though and we’ll see what [Saturday] brings.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/world-rally-championship-news/wrc/atkinson-desperate-to-show-real-pace

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