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:
Gigi, first up, before we a🥂sk you about 2007, congratulations onꦰ winning the rally sprint event at the Bologna Motor Show in December...

Gigi Galli:
Thanks, it was really good, esꦕpecially 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 supporters 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 friends and had some good nights. I think it is good to rel🐬ax.

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

GG:
We are trying to find something for this seasonꦗ. At the moment we are trying very harꦇd 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 t♏o 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 Xsara WRC.

Q:
💖Can you tell us anything more 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 it - they will supply t﷽he logistical things and they will help me to arrange everything and do the recce and so on.

Q:
How do you think you wilﷺl get on with the 🐷Citroen Xsara 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 performances 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 rallying - 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 in a couple of weeks we will know something for s🍬ure. But as I said, I still have to find some ♓budget and some people to help us to compete 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 Rally 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 mome♊nt I want to try hard to stay involved in the WRC.

Q:
Thanks, Gigi. Good luck with finalising that progra൲mme to compete in the ܫWRC.