Ronmel Palomino in his most sublime hour: “I waited 18 years to win Caminos del Inca”

The champion celebrates working. Just Inca roads and all the logistics must return to their places and they are, Ronmel and Richard Palomino who direct each step from the Palomino Terminal in Cusco. But Tuesday night was all happiness for the ‘Zorrito’. The youngest of the brothers managed to win the legendary rally for the first time and so he lives.

—How does it take to win Caminos del Inca for the first time?

happy to have won Inca roads. I’ve been looking for it for 18 years and it’s always second, minutes away… I waited 18 years and more gladly to win in the 50th edition. we gave up, but we kept going and we have gone from less to more, without losing hope.

—Does it shock the competitor’s spirits to see himself so far behind, almost an hour behind the leaders?

It collides, but we had what… If we could cut from 8 to 8 or 10 minutes in stages, we could come back and put pressure on it. That is what we did and the goal was achieved.

—But very risky…

Risky. We came to the limit, like a short rally, but in a long rally to be able to recover the times.

—Working with the co-pilot is essential

Happy for Guillermo Sierra. We are from Andahuaylas and he is from Abancay. There are some chauvinistic things there, but we work as a team, like a family, like brothers.

—How did you take that Richard’s car kept failing?

All the fears enter: if it will touch me, if it will endure the work. Thank God it didn’t happen to us, but on the link to Cusco the gas pump cable began to burn. Happily we found out, I turned off the car and we fixed it. In the last stage, imagine… 9 kilometers from winning Caminos del Inca.

The other side of Ronmel

—How do you start as a runner?

I started in 2002 with my brother Richard. He started out as a hobby, watching competitors like Orlandini, Dibós, Gustavo Medina. I was a kid. We liked what Neto was doing and we wanted to get involved. In the first Caminos del Inca we arrived in Abancay and in 2003 we separated because we were both good drivers and since then each one with his car.

—And how is it that your love for cars is born?

I would grab my dad’s cars and start running. I was 14 years old. That’s how he was born. My brother taught me driving a big bus, in the car washes. He couldn’t reach the clutch and he helped me make the changes. Driving the big cars is like a race car, because you open up to get into the corners. That’s where we get the experience.

—How come they decide to bet big on the races?

When we were with the small cars, with the Hondas, we had better times than the AWD. With 1600 engine cars before the others with turbos. So they saw our management and the sponsors arrived.

—You run to win… Does that make the people identify with you more?

It’s what we do. We represent the provinces of Peru, we go from town to town and the people already know: “here comes the Little Fox”, they say. They have known us for many years. I identify with them too.

—How was the nickname born?

The nickname of Zorrito was born by Walter Villanueva, Mascafierro. In one race he was fighting in the general. In Andahuaylas I appeared second or third and everyone was surprised. He said: “this is a fox, a cunning one”, and thus the ‘Little Fox’ was born. The theme of the ‘Run Run’ is because of what it means “run, run, in English. And the other thing, it’s because of the fox that became famous and now we’ve made him more famous (laughs).

calm at the wheel

—The Palominos have always been singled out, but you’ve never been involved in trouble?

I have always been very kind, I am very peaceful. Don’t worry, I don’t like to argue. If they do something to me, I leave it in God’s hands and continue. That is what was done now. We had a problem in the Puno-Arequipa stage, which didn’t give me a pass. With frustration I said it was unsportsmanlike that he did not give me a pass. Mr [Fausto Farfán] he said he never noticed. At the flag he apologized to me and I took it in a good way. But then the man in an interview told me “Tipejo”. I have a first and last name and I’m not that kind of person. He said: “If I show videos, I withdraw.” Already annoyed we posted the video and he took it however he wants. The ACP has tracking and they verified that almost 25km was 15-20, up to 5 seconds behind. Technology doesn’t lie.

—By regulation, it must be allowed to pass because it is dangerous.

It is a strong problem for all pilots. It shouldn’t happen because it’s very dangerous at the rate we’re going. The powder that is left is for a minute. For example, Mr. Jorge Martínez gave me a pass and then told me: “Ronmel you’re right, I couldn’t see for more than a minute. He had to stop”. We are friends, we work in sports and this is all together. It is the life of your pilot companion who also wants to win.

—The Palominos were always singled out for extra-sports issues, how did you take that?

It hurts a lot, but this year everything went very well. We have made our effort. We don’t work that way [antideportivo]. Fans do it sometimes, but we talk to them too. Right now, before leaving Arequipa, the people made a riot because they were going to remove a pilot, but happily nothing happened. We have worked on that with the people, on knowing how to lose as well, but above all on mentalizing ourselves to win a fair race.

—How representative is it for a Caminos pilot?

It is very representative. It is the only race that is run this way. We have brought the Spaniards from RMC and they said “this is a crazy race”.

—It was said that the N5 did not arrive for Caminos del Inca…

Yes, the N5 question themselves. It’s a fuel pump problem. Vehicles are built for a 30km race, you stop the car and it cools down. Here the route of Caminos is another and solving the problem, we have gone with everything. We just ran this car in Caminos and it wins.

—And there is talk of the arrival of R5 cars for next year. it’s advisable?

An R5 is a good machine, but it is prepared for short rallies. I don’t know if they will perform in Caminos and the cost is very high, very strong. More than double an N5.

—What’s next, internationalization?

My brother went to Ecuador to run. We are seeing what projects to do. Let’s see if we go to Ecuador, Argentina. They are inviting us to Spain to be able to see what the rhythm we have is. They tell us that the pace we have is strong.

—What else do they tell you about the outside?

It’s crazy what they do here, but they are happy with the performance of the car. Only the issue of the fuel pump is what has to be reinforced.

The family

—What did your father think of seeing them in competition?

My father Serapio Palomino did not like us to run, as a hobby he did, but in competition he worried about accidents. He always waited for us here in Cusco. This year he could not accompany us. He felt happy, he supported us and we always have him present.

—What was I telling you about you not being able to win Paths?

He knew he had to touch me. “We’re going to make it,” he told us. He didn’t come with me, but we’re happy we made it.

—And also the support of Richard.

“Brother, you have to do it,” he told me. He always had problems with his car, but he told me that he would continue to support me. That is why what he has done is a great achievement, because one gets desperate when a car breaks down and it is also dangerous.

—Team Wari stronger than ever.

We all work together, everything we do is for the team. What the sponsors give us is everything for the car, we don’t grab a single sun because if we want to be among the first, everything is for the car.