| |
 Girl power in a calm way: Fabrizia Pons, under
contract to Volkswagen since 2002 and Jutta Kleinschmidt’s co-driver,
is the most successful women in rallying altogether.
When
the versatile Italian rolls across the start ramp at the Moroccan
Rally, the third round of the Cross Country Rally World Cup held
between 25th and 29th May, with Jutta Kleinschmidt in the Volkswagen
Race-Touareg she will have the third Cross Country Rally World Cup
victory in her sights. Pons celebrated five wins in the World Rally
Championship before swapping to off-road rallying and is, as a result,
more successful than the French woman Michèle Mouton, on whose
side she
made headlines during the nineteen-eighties in the Audi works team –
with the first World Championship rally victory ever by women at the
1981 San Remo Rally and the Vice World Champion title in 1982.
However,
she was not only successful together with other women: Pons also won in
the Rally World Championship and in the Cross Country Rally World Cup
together with her compatriot Piero Liatti and the Finn Ari Vatanen.
The Italian had her greatest triumph to date in January this year when
she scored the first podium position for a diesel vehicle together with
Jutta Kleinschmidt at the famous Dakar Rally for Volkswagen. "I
fulfilled a dream at the finish in Lac Rose, because the ‘Dakar' has
always been one of the classics for me, I'd dreamed of finishing on the
podium for years”, says the graceful Fabrizia Pons. "It was, for the
time being, the highpoint of a fantastic time that I am having with
Volkswagen and Jutta.”
At 14, first jumps in motocross
Fabrizia Pons started her career at 14 on a motocross motorbike. "I
loved motocross, but was never really good”, she relates. "Then I was
operated three times on my ankle after a heavy accident and was told
never to ride a motorbike again by my doctor. However, I couldn't
imagine a world without motorsport and wanted to race.” Friends got her
started again in rallying. She was successful for three years in the
Italian Rally Championship and scored class wins as driver. With ninth
place at the San Remo Rally, the Italian World Championship round, in
1978 she achieved something remarkable: Along with Frenchman
Jean-Claude Lefèbvre, she is one of the two people to finish in
the top
ten as both driver and co-driver in the World Rally Championship's 33
year history. In 1979 Fabrizia Pons jumped into the passenger seat to
become co-driver.
Most successful female duo with Michèle Mouton in rally
history
At the beginning of 1981 the telephone rang at family Pons in Turin.
"My name is Michèle Mouton and wanted to ask whether you would
like to
be my co-driver”, announced a woman's voice at the end of the line.
Initially, Pons did not take the call seriously. "At that time
Michèle
was already famous. I thought that somebody was pulling my leg.”
However, their paths did cross and they got together: Fabrizia Pons
competed as co-driver to Michèle Mouton for Audi in the World
Rally
Championship. They were World Championship runners-up one year later.
"Five great years”, says the 49-year old looking back over four wins
and many top finishes among the world's elite. "It was a dream to be
part of the Audi quattro's development from the start to the top of the
podium, a dream which is now being repeated with Volkswagen.”
Priorities shifted in the middle of the eighties: "I got married and
couldn't imagine competing in any more rallies. I stopped in 1986”, say
Pons, who cut all connections with the sport at the time. "I didn't buy
any magazines, didn't follow any rallies.” When son Ludovico and
daughter Elisabetta were older, Pons returned to the rally scene. "At
first I drove in historical rallies with a friend. When I noticed just
how much time it consumed I decided I'd rather invest this time in real
rallies.” While searching for a suitable cockpit, she took the
initiative herself and selected one of the top drivers. "I knew that
Ari Vatanen's co-driver had stopped, so I wrote Ari a letter of
application. "The 1981 World Champion agreed: Between 1994 and 1996
they competed in the World Rally Championship together. Together with
Vatanen in 1995, the Italian also crowned her Cross Country rallying
debut with two wins at the events in Morocco and Portugal. In 1996 Pons
changed back to compatriot Piero Liatti in the World Rally Championship
and won the historical and world famous Rally Monte Carlo in 1997.
Michèle Mouton brought Jutta Kleinschmidt and Fabrizia Pons
together
Visiting Michèle Mouton's 50th birthday party proved to be a
stroke of
luck. "I met Jutta Kleinschmidt there. We hit it off immediately and
talked the whole evening.” The offer followed: Kleinschmidt/Pons have
formed a strong team at Volkswagen since 2002. The final change from
classic rallies to the cross country cockpit was a real challenge for
Pons. "I was used to planning every detail in the WRC. Reading notes
was as natural as breathing for me”, she says. "Cross country rallies
are much more difficult, because so many unforeseen things can happen.
You have to ready for anything and be able to improvise.” She feels
comfortable alongside Jutta Kleinschmidt: "Jutta is a real
professional, and it is fascinating that she knows just about
everything about the car and cross country rallies.” The Volkswagen
works driver returns the praise. "Fabrizia is always perfectly
prepared, she studies the road book exactly and works tirelessly into
the early hours on the route for the next day”, explains Jutta
Kleinschmidt. "And I'm honestly impressed about the stresses and
strains this delicate person can take.”
Privately Pons, who studied Architecture, likes culture and nature: The
Italian, who lives together with her parents and children Ludovico (17)
and Elisabetta (16) in Turin, has been singing for 18 years as soprano
in a choir. "We've even produced a CD”, she proudly reports. Another
passion is animals – especially her three cats.
VW Press Release
More articles
|
|
| |
|
