Renault Clio R3T began its WRC 3 programme when the World Rally Championship returned to Europe in Portugal. The championship continues its European tour this weekend, staying on gravel. The latest car to roll out of Renault Sport Technologies’ Customer Racing workshops had enjoyed a successful debut, perfectly managing the tough road conditions in the Porto region. Conditions are also expected to be particularly hard on the cars in Sardinia.

“We had a lot of things to get to grips with in Portugal,” reflected Yann Paranthoen, Technical Manager, Renault Sport Technologies. “We were able to show the strengths of Clio R3T, such as its reliability, at the sport’s top level. The fact we are tackling another gravel rally straight away is quite useful. The idea is therefore to keep going, to establish Clio R3T as one of the leading two-wheel drive cars in world rallying. We don’t expect the competition to be as fierce in Sardinia, so we may have an opportunity to score heavily and establish ourselves as one of the favourites in the title race.”

Rally Italia Sardegna kicks off this Thursday, 11 June with the traditional shakedown followed by the Cagliari super special stage in the evening, held on tarmac. Andrea Crugnola and Michele Ferrara will then tackle three days of tough racing on roads which, for the most part, will be narrow and rough. As in Portugal, the Renault Sport crew will therefore need to avoid punctures before they can think about setting fast times. There are a total of 23 stages, with the rally scheduled to finish around Sunday lunchtime and the podium due to take place at 1.45pm.