Renault: Monte podium for the Clio champions
A BEAUTIFUL FINISH As winners of the Clio R3T Alps Trophy 2018, the Courtois/Risser team was invited by Renault Switzerland to take part in the Monte Carlo Rally. The team from Alsace performed superbly. Olivier Courtois, navigated by Hubert Risser, showed all his experience at the wheel of the Renault Clio. Together, they concluded the WRC adventure in the French lakes with [...]
Olivier Courtois, navigated by Hubert Risser, showed all his experience at the wheel of the Renault Clio. Together, they concluded the World Championship adventure in the French Seeapen with a magnificent second place in the RC3 category. They held their own in a field of ten teams, all of whom had their sights set on the podium. In the overall classification, the team from Alsace secured 40th place.
Cautious start
They deliberately took a cautious approach to the first stage on Thursday evening on snow-covered and partly icy tracks. The following day, the official Renault Suisse SA team stepped up the pace considerably.
Unfortunately, this did not pay off as SS3 and SS5 had to be canceled for safety reasons due to the excessive number of spectators. In addition, the team had to stop in the fourth special stage at kilometer 18 because a competitor who had had an accident was blocking the way.
Several best times
So there was no sign of rhythm. However, the French were not discouraged and showed their potential over the next two days. On Saturday, they impressed in the most difficult conditions on a terrain that turned into a bumpy track after the heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures during the night (minus 10 degrees!). Despite this, they set several fastest times and entered the port of Monaco in second place after the Saturday stage.
Safely in second place at the finish
Experienced drivers know that this does not guarantee a podium finish. On Sunday, Olivier Courtois/Hubert Risser proved their cleverness and did not allow themselves to be rattled on the Turini special stage (two runs).
As a reward, they were able to climb onto the podium at the award ceremony in the Principality as runners-up in the RC3 category. The Clio R3T Alps Trophy 2018 could hardly have ended on a better note.
Registration period runs
The winners of the Clio R3T Alps Trophy 2019 will also be able to take part in the Rally Monte Carlo in January 2020 free of charge. The season starts on March 15/16 with the Rallye Pays du Gier in France. The first registrations promise excitement.
If you still want to take part, you can find all the information, the regulations and the registration form for this international FIA series on the official homepage or via Facebook.
facebook.com/ClioR3TAlpsTrophy/
