Zoltán "Cigány" VargaCigány is Hungarian for "Gypsy" (born March 11, 1964, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) is a Hungarian

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

driver, known for his storytelling, jokes and good humour.

Early life

His father was an engineer in the Weapon and Gas Appliance Factory, but died in a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match at only 63 years old. As Varga has stated in several interviews, he was not a good child, but he became a pioneer and got He finished a pioneer course and got a very good score. He has been interested in rally racing since the age of 14. Varga was often truant in his youth due to his enthusiasm in racing. He would buy

matchbox A matchbox is a container or case for matches, made of paperboard, cardboard, thin wood, or metal, generally in the form of a box with a separate drawer sliding inside the cover. Matchboxes generally measure 5 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm, and commonly have ...

es, such as a

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

or a

Polski Fiat Polski Fiat (literally in English: ''Polish Fiat'') was a Polish car brand. Under this brand, cars under licence of the Italian manufacturer FIAT were manufactured or assembled in Poland. Before World War II The brand was created in 1932, wh ...

and revamp some of them into rally racing cars. He became disinterested in schooling as rally racing season approached, and was known to cause trouble for his teachers during this time. It was a milestone in his life when he decided to transform his

Lada LadaAccording to various sources, the name Lada is derived from a Russian word for Viking longships (). (, , marketed as LADAFrom 2004 onwards Lada is marketed worldwide, including in Russia, using the all-capitals brand name written in Latin sc ...

into a racing car, marking the transition from aspiring racer to an actual racer.

Rally career

His rally career began in 1982, when he took part in the Mátra Cup. On his first competition, he raced with a driving licence which had been soaked in cacao. On his fourth race, Varga had a great accident and because of it he got into a car magazine. In the beginning of his early career, he had 23 total cars with a few crushes. László Pénzes became his navigator between 1984–1994. At the same time he wrote down a contract so he could race in Rally3, and one year later he became a Rally2 driver at the Hungarocamion. As a Rally2 driver, Zoltán Varga and his navigator lined up in the Autumn 1984. In 2002, he bought a new car: a BMW E30 M3 racing car. It was a big step for him, because he did not have enough money to buy a

WRC WRC may refer to: Broadcasting stations * WRC-TV, a television station (virtual channel 4, digital channel 34) licensed to Washington, D.C., United States * Several radio stations in the Washington, D.C. area: ** WWRC, a radio station (570 AM) l ...

. He spent a lot of money redesigning his BMW, revamping it into a powerful vehicle with a , engine, a 6-gear shift and a large differential. In 2000, he hired a new navigator by the name of Ferenc Sand. He has won several awards. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 he won several prizes featured on ''Www.rally.hu''. Today, he races in Italy.

Awards

Notes

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography *

External links

Raly.hu
an interview with Varga
Duen.hu
2006 interview with Varga before the Danube rally {{DEFAULTSORT:Varga, Zoltan (Cigany) Living people 1964 births Hungarian rally drivers Racing drivers from Budapest