Big jumps, hard landings, massive impacts – often affecting the drivers’ spines – are part of rallying. But when a landing hits harder than usual, the pain can be crucial. Andrea Mabellini’s co-driver, Virginia Lenzi, leader of the Staff House Rally Hungary, could certainly attest to that – so as several of her fellow co-drivers. On the second stage of Saturday’s leg of the rally, one particular landing proved especially brutal, leaving Lenzi with severe back pain.
Giving up was never an option for her, and fortunately, she received assistance from the Fit4Race team in the service park. Thanks to their help, she was able to carry on the fight for victory with reduced pain.
“We had a bad landing that caused a sharp pain in my back. Andrea asked if I could continue, but giving up never even crossed my mind – we were leading the race and still are! The Fit4Race professionals treated me in the service park – they stretched my back, we did balance exercises, and I received manual therapy. As a result, the pain eased significantly, and I even slept well. I go to them every time we come around, and they treated me again on Sunday morning. I’m feeling much better now. I’m focused on my task – we must push on!”
Zsolt Matics, founder and managing director of Fit4Race, explained that Virginia Lenzi was far from the only one who turned to them for help – the team is currently treating at least six or seven co-drivers with similar issues.
“Co-drivers are especially vulnerable during such landings. They’re looking down, and while they may know from the pace notes what’s coming, they can’t predict exactly how severe the impact will be. Unlike the driver, they can’t brace themselves with the steering wheel – they’re held in place by the safety harness, but that doesn’t protect them from the shock. We’ve actually started considering developing a specific training programme for co-drivers to strengthen the muscles that are most strained in these situations.
As for the current cases: we have physiotherapist Andrea Pásztor from the Pain Ambulance with us, who supports the co-drivers with manual therapy and physiotherapy, as well as applying kinesiology tape. We also run warm-up sessions for them each morning to support faster recovery.”
Interestingly, the Fit4Race team first encountered the ERC field at last year’s Rally Hungary, where they provided warm-ups and not only physical but also mental support to the junior drivers. This year, however, at the request of the ERC promoter and with the support of Hankook, they are present at every European Championship round, helping and assisting competitors – including in situations like the current one.