“Daughter, take me to the podium”

Soon to celebrate Father’s Day, Antonio Fernández Basanta, cube (Viveiro, 1969), has a request for his daughter, Shirley Fernandez Bellas (Viveiro, 1996). “Take me to the podium,” begs a man enjoying his family Spanish championship of renewable energy sources. With a young woman behind the wheel and her father as passenger, they debuted on March 4 with fifth place in the regular competition for plug-in hybrids Eco Rali Comunidad Valenciana.

After completing three tests and finishing ninth last year, his challenge is to finish the remaining six events in Mallorca, Llanes, A Coruña, Bilbao, Gran Canaria and Madrid and take one of the top three places. “We were looking for sponsors so that we could follow the whole championship and we managed to persuade them to let us try it Lynk & Co.which is a type of SUV,” explains Cubi about its debut in Castellón this year.

In a competitive open road discipline where average speeds are required to pass intermediate points at a precise moment, neither before nor after, and efficiency prevails, the size of their vehicle took its toll on them: «We ran the first stage very well and finished second, but then we had a problem that dropped us to third place. It was quite close, but we managed to keep third place until the end. But then they measured consumption and with such a heavy car we suffered and fell to fifth place.

Replacing his mother

Cubi has been enjoying competitions for years regularly with classic cars. “I found out about this modality of eco rally and I wanted to try it”, explains his approach to the class where he cannot lead his usual driver, his partner Carmelina Bellas. “Due to reconciliation at work, it is impossible for him to come,” he declares.

Her replacement was at home: “Shirley has loved rallies since she was little, she grew up with us in this world and offered to accompany me. I am delighted with it, we understand each other very well and it is very nice to enjoy this environment with my daughter. You meet a lot of people with whom you share tastes and there is a very good vibe”.

After three ecological rallies completed last year in A Coruña, Bilbao and Madrid, the father and the heiress feel ready to form a team that will be counted on in the championship that will end in November. His next goal is on April 1 in the Balearic Islands, at the Eco Rally Mallorca Experience Week. “Ready to improve after analyzing the mistakes” and with the support of Viveira Council, the local Holy Week, Dental Clinic 2000 and Fonca, they hope to give even more installments.