ERC-Michelin Talent Factory member Tempestini looking forward not back

The six-time Romanian champion was on course to finish fifth on Rally Serras de Fafe - Felgueiras - Cabreira e Boticas earlier this month only to suffer late heartache when he crashed out on the Lameirinha Power Stage.

But the 27-year-old ERC-Michelin Talent Factory member is focusing on his Fafe positives rather than any negatives ahead of the second round of the 2022 FIA European Rally Championship.

"Everything was quite good for us with no mistakes, no moments, everything under control until that corner on the last stage, that was totally different to what I expected,” Tempestini said. "For me it was clear it was a slippery section, a left corner, but I was thinking I would be able to control the car in those conditions. But it was really impossible at the end. The corner was full of mud, a huge difference of grip between the inside and outside of the corner. It was not high speed but because of the conditions the car spun a lot and we touched the inside of the corner."

He continued: “We had a problem with the windscreen on the last stage of the first day and we lost some time there but in the other stages it was totally under control and everything was quite good, so if we can start the Azores like this, thinking about this and not the last stage because it was totally different conditions to what is normal in muddy conditions.”

Tempestini made his Azores debut in 2013 but retired with a mechanical issue on the iconic Sete Cidades Power Stage.

"It was one of the first rallies outside of Romania that I did so it was a way for me to get some experience and I like the stages,” he said. “The weather conditions this year are not so good but it’s an island and the weather can change. But I prefer to have sunny conditions and normal gravel, not only wet gravel.”