Following a successful debut at the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine, where it came home first in the R3 class, the Renault Clio R3T took to the start line at the East Belgian Rally with designs on topping the podium again. Making its first appearance before Belgium’s rally fans, the latest addition to Renault Sport Technologies’ motorsport/customer range wasted little time in getting itself noticed. Guided round the course by last year’s French Junior Rally champions Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares, it nevertheless faced some stiff competition.

Appearing in his first rally outside France and on his first official outing in the Clio R3T, Axel Garcia made a cautious start, but still found himself in the top two in the R3 class. Growing in confidence with each stage, he gradually stepped up the pace before taking four straight stages to take the class lead.

The 2013 French Junior Rally champion completed a masterful drive to take the R3 honours and finish on the podium in the R group and seventh overall, giving the car its second class victory in as many events and highlighting its status as the new benchmark in its category.

What they said:

Axel Garcia (official Renault Sport Technologies driver): “I’m very pleased because we went faster and faster as the rally went on. We’ve come away with an excellent result in our first rally in the car and our debut in this event, and we ticked off each of our objectives along the way. We made a solid, consistent start, got to grips with the car, and then showed what it’s capable of doing. The Clio R3T gave us confidence and we’re delighted we showed how much potential it’s got. We’ll be going to Alsace full confidence and knowing that even more will be expected of us there.”

Sylvain Alanore, Renault Sport Technologies team manager: “Axel drove an intelligent race and kept his side of the bargain. The car reacted perfectly and the synergy in the team was perfect. Though the route was very compact and testing for both man and machine, we found plenty of performance. The Clio R3T went down very well with the fans and with the Belgian rally community, and this result has shown that we’ve taken the right path in these last few months. It’s great to score a second win in the second rally since the Clio R3T’s launch.”

Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares will make their next competitive appearance in the Renault Clio R3T at the Rallye de France – Alsace, the French leg of the World Rally Championship, which takes place on 3-5 October.