Manu Guigou moves up to second in the French Rally Championship

Manu Guigou took the lead in the FWD class in the first special at the Rallye Mont-Blanc and stayed there, clocking up eight out of a possible ten fastest times in R3.

“I thought I drove well in the first special without taking too many risks,” said Manu at the finish line. “I drove at my pace throughout the rally, having attacked a little more in La Vernaz on day one.”

After building up a near 30-second advantage by Friday evening, Manu Guigou then stretched his lead despite the obstacles posed by the course : “The weather was especially tough, and on Saturday morning we had to negotiate a special that was two thirds wet on slicks. I made sure I got round and the Michelin tyres were a big help. I’d also like to thank RDM for the work they did on our Renault Clio R3T. They really helped us come away with a great result. Team Automeca – Florajet did a perfect job too.”

With four wins now under his belt, Manu Guigou lies second in the standings on 72 points : “To be tied for second after the Rallye Aveyron Rouergue was a surprise, but we’re now going to try and hang on to it, though I won’t be changing my approach to rallies and the rest of the season. We’ll still be doing all we can to finish as high as we can. Our next race is the Critérium des Cévennes, where we’ll be gunning again for maximum points and trying to take the Renault Clio R3T as high as possible.”

Thanks to his second place in the French Rally Championship, Manu Guigou has steered his Renault Clio R3T into a top eight made up exclusively of WRC, R5 4WD and GT cars.