Andrea Crugnola and Michele Ferrara began their season with two of the most difficult stages on their 2015 programme. Having proven the reliability of Clio R3T in Portugal and Sardinia, they will now test its out-and-out speed. Rally Poland certainly features smoother and faster roads, enabling the drivers to push harder, especially on the long, straight sections.

Although he finished sixth in Portugal and second at his home round in Italy, Andrea Crugnola is not about to rest on his laurels or become complacent. “Sardinia provided us with clearer view of our capabilities. If the rock hadn’t damaged our radiator, we would have won. But we enjoyed very good pace throughout and won a few stages in the WRC 3 class. We know that we are fast but we want to do even better.”

“We’re getting to know the car and the team better and better. The cooperation between us is good. We are going to need to keep working together efficiently, because we still have many areas in which we can improve. I know that the Polish roads are very quick. It’s going to be a big challenge, but we’re ready. We’ll be looking to score points. We’ll need to keep out of trouble and make it to the finish.”

The rally gets underway this Thursday in Mikolajki, the base for the weekend. A super special stage will kick off proceedings on Thursday evening, before the crews set off on Friday morning for three days of intense racing. In total, there are 19 stages, with the Power Stage finale starting at 12pm on Sunday.

After this event, Clio R3T will tackle a series of tarmac rallies, including Tour de Corse, Rally Deutschland and Rally de España.