1) What is the appeal of the ERC to you?
ERC has an incredible community of athletes, teams and fans, and also offers proper media support, so I feel there’s no better place to be once I decided to step up from national level. The competition is high and this means I have the chance to learn more during rally weekends.
2) What are your aims for 2024?
My goal is to do my first full ERC season, but realistically right now I only have the budget to do 4 to 6 events. I aim for tarmac events because this is where I have the most experience, after competing the last couple of seasons in the Opel Electric Rally Cup.
At this point I am just looking to be present at the start of each rally, build the experience and enjoy what I’ve achieved so far. I am confident my pace will improve if I have the chance to be constant, but it’s actually a bigger challenge than it might seem, financially.
3) You are tackling some new events this year, how excited are you by this prospect and how do you plan to learn these rallies?
Oh yes! I am so excited to get back on gravel in Hungary, I have no idea how it will be, since my last proper gravel season was in 2018 with a Dacia Sandero, but I’ve been training on the simulator a lot. In any case, this experience will help me get more confidence and a better understanding of the Rally4 car.
Also, competing in Islas Canarias was on my bucket list for a few years now, so I can’t wait to discover everything the event and the island have to offer.
4) What are you most looking forward to this season?
Starting the championship with the very first event, Rally Hungary, it’s just a dream come true. I never imagined I would do this one day.
Apart from my own performance goals – getting better with each rally, my mission is to show girls this is an achievable goal and I look forward to continue advocating for a better representation of women in motorsport. We need to see it to be it, so giving up is not an option, even when things seem impossible. I might as well start with my own example behind the wheel.
5) How much effort and hard work has it taken for you to finalise your ERC programme?
It’s taken me a few years to be able to build my career up to this point. I’m a one-woman show, finding sponsors and also working on smaller projects, either social media campaigns or giving corporate speeches to be able to fund my career. I enjoy it even though it definitely takes its toll on the resources I can spend on training and preparing for rallies. But I feel I have much more patience, resilience and ambition to give to this sport so I can achieve all of my goals.
Big shoutout to all motorsport fans around the world who cheer for us, at events or on online on my instagram @crissoprea, their support really motivates me to keep pushing and makes me understand why our presence in ERC is so valuable.
6) What sponsors and partners should we mention?
This is possible with the support of UniCredit Leasing and Vitesco Technologies, my two main sponsors who believed in me ever since I decided to compete in FIA rally championships, with partners Vitamin Aqua and IAMSport alongside them. Also a big thank you to Waldherr Motor Sport, my team from Austria whose professionalism and belief in me play a key role in my plans for 2024.
