by Rob Wilkins

Gigi Galli looks set to compete in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2007 using a privately entered Citroen Xsara WRC car supplied by PH Sport. Here he speaks exclusively to wuqian0821.com Radio and confirms some of the details...

Q:
G🌃igi, first up, before we ask you about 2007, congratulations on winning the rally sprint event at the Bologna Mot🦩or Show in December...

Gigi Galli:
Thanks, it was really good, especially when you have the chance to drive a WRC car so close to your fans. In Bologna it was a lot of fun and there were a lot of supp🀅orters and for me, as an Italian, it was nice to be able to have a good time with them.

Q:
Did you have a good Christmas?

GG:
Yes, I was at home and went skiing too. We had a good time with some frie🎃nds and had some good nights. I think it is𓆏 good to relax.

Q:
Last year of course, you did six WRC events - t🐎wo with the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 and four with the Peugeot 307, any news on what you are going to be doing in 2007?

GG:
We are trying to find something for this season. At the momeꦛnt we are trying very hard to put together a small programme. I am hoping to do maybe eight rallies with a Citroen, although it is still not confirmed 100 per🙈 cent.

Today it was the last day to do the entry for Sweden and for Norway and we have entered, but it is still not certain that we will compete. But I am quite confident to be able to be in Sweden with the Xsa🐟ra WRC.

Q:
Can you tell us anything mor✃e about the programme? Who is the car going to be run by?

GG:
I will use a Citroen supplied by PH Sport from France. But on events it will be an Italian team that will run 𒅌it - they will supply the logistical things and they will help me to arrangꦜe everything and do the recce and so on.

Q:
How do you think you will get on with the Citroen X𝕴sara WRC?

GG:
Like ever I think the main difficulty will be to understand the car and to get to know the handling. I have never driven a Citroen before and now I hope, in the next few weeks, to be able to෴ get the budget I need. I then hope to be able to do some small tests - but that will be quite difficult. I hope that the car will be easy to drive and I hope that I can adjust quickly to it.

I want to show some good performa𝓰nces on the rallies. I am sure it will be very hard though to get some good results as there are a lot of good drivers in the WRC. What is very important though is to stay involved in ral🔯lying - and to try and show our performance and our personality. I need to do everything that I can to get back in a works team.

Q:
Any idea when your programme will be confirmed?

GG:
I think iಞn a couple of weeks we will know something for sure. But as I said, I still have to find some budget and some people to help us to co✱mpete and to go and do everything.

Q:
Final question, do you have any other plans for this year - maybe to do 🍌something in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge or even 🏅the Asia Pacific Rally Championship?

GG:
I have spent most of my career working towards the FIA World R🥀ally Championship - and I would like to try the best I🌳 can to stay involved in the WRC. If I cannot do that, I will try and consider other things and move into another championship. But at the moment I want to try hard to stay involved in the WRC.

Q:
Thanks, Gigi. Good luck with finalising൩ that programme to compete in th꧂e WRC.