Three days. That’s how long it took for Seth Quintero to become a bonafide rally driver.
When he retired from last month’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, his maiden outing in a factory Toyota GR Corolla Rally RC2 (and only the second actual stage rally in his life), he looked lost. The fast Missouri roads combined with the weight of expectation had combined to wipe that trademark smile from the Californian’s face.
Last week’s Olympus Rally put it firmly back in place. Gone were the nerves, the apprehension and the uncertainty – replaced by confidence and a genuine understanding of how to get the best out of the Corolla. He looked a different driver.
How did he do that?
“I’m not sure I should tell you that…” came the response, complete with the grin. Having been assured that DirtFish had been granted the highest possible level of clearance (Jari-Matti Latvala told him to tell us), he offered a full explanation.
“In the test before the event, we only changed one thing,” he said. “And that one thing made me realize that I could drive. We changed some preloads in the diffs and it turned it from me not really knowing how to drive the car to: ‘Oh wait, this feels familiar!’
Quintero was a new man in Olympus
“It felt a lot more like my W2RC truck, which is also a lot like a rally car to be honest with you. It was a good change and after that I was like: ‘Oh, this is sweet.’
“I think there was a couple of other things as well, not just the change [of set-up]. One of them was I was trying to change my driving style too much. I was just kind of trying to follow some of the greats on how they drove. What actually made the change for me was riding with Jari-Matti at the test. He’s a very aggressive driver, high on the revs and he really flicks the car to the corner.
“I was trying to do the opposite. I was trying to really use a lot of the torque in the car and not slide too much. That’s never really been my driving style. And so when I got in the car with Jari and I realized that it’s OK to do what he was doing, it was an eye-opener and obviously it changed the outcome of my rally.
“He’s been an amazing help, he’s on such a different level than all of us, right?,” said Quintero of his team-mate. “The feeling for me is so different to 100 Acre. OK, the roads here in Olympus are not really the same as Missouri, but it’s good.”
And talking from that different level, Latvala was happy to help.
“I took Seth in the car with me on the test and I was trying to explain my style – I know it’s a bit more aggressive. I was talking through my braking and the lines and everything like that. You know Olympus was only Seth’s third rally and I have been driving more than 20 years, so there is quite a difference.
“In rallying you don’t do a couple of rallies and understand everything, it takes time to learn – but when you have some direction this helps. I don’t say my driving style – you have to find your own way – but the biggest thing is to understand how to carry the speed through the corners.
“He has done a great job. He made such a big step from Missouri, improving through the rally and basically making no mistakes. OK, there was some spin or something in a junction, but nothing really and this was a long rally – he’s done well with the notes and the driving. Like I said, a big step.”
Quintero finished second in Olympus, ahead of all the other full-season ARA drivers.
