19 août 2015
Clio R3T and Andrea Crugnola resume their campaign on tarmac
After contesting the opening three rounds of the season on gravel, Renault Sport’s WRC 3 World Rally Championship programme switches to tarmac this weekend. Three such events are scheduled between now and the end of the season, and first up for the Renault Sport crew of Andrea Crugnola and Michele Ferrara in their Clio R3T is Rallye Deutschland (20-23 August). The rally offers them a great opportunity to get their title bid back on track.
The ADAC Rallye Deutschland is a very special event for Renault Sport Technologies and Clio R3T. It was, of course, here in 2014 that the car made its competitive debut at world level. Since then, Clio R3T has established itself as the new benchmark in the two-wheel drive category and, at the start of this season, it set off in pursuit of the WRC 3 title. Thanks in particular to finishing as runners-up in Sardinia, Andrea Crugnola and Michele Ferrara can boast a top-five position in the Championship standings. Furthermore, the Clio R3T Renault Sport crew know that they will be in with a good chance on the German tarmac roads, before then tackling two other rallies, in France and Spain, on the same surface.
“The main goal is to make a very strong impression on tarmac in the second half of the season,” explained Sylvain Alanore, Renault Sport Technologies’ Team Manager. “We have the ideal opportunity to show that Clio R3T is the leading car at the moment on this surface, whilst also scoring important points for the championship.”
After three gravel events at the start of the season, Andrea Crugnola was able to get his bearings on tarmac during development testing for Clio R3T at around the same time as Rally Poland. Everything is therefore in place for the Renault Sport crew to challenge at the front.
“We’re in relaxed and confident mood for this event. We’re eager show everyone our performance level,” continued Sylvain Alanore. “We expect this race to be something of a turning point in our season. Now is the time to really start scoring heavily. Performance is our priority but the WRC 3 overall standings remains the ultimate goal.”
The ADAC Rallye Deutschland gets underway on Thursday, 20 August with the shakedown, followed by three days of intense racing. The competitors must find the right balance on the constantly-changing surface, from the tarmac of the stages through the Mosel vineyards to the concrete at the Baumholder military base. The event features a total of 21 stages, with 374.43 km of timed sections.
