13 May 2014
Axel Garcia holds his own in the Limousin
Despite conditions that stopped them from showcasing their full range of talents, Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares battled their way to the finish line at the Rallye Région Limousin – Lac de Vassivière. After showing glimpses of what they can achieve at the wheel of the Renault Twingo R.S. R2 Evo, the duo left Limoges intent on getting the very best out of the car at the next event on their 2014 programme: the Rallye Aveyron Rouergue Midi-Pyrénées.
Having made a hugely impressive start to the season, Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares took to the Renault Twingo R.S. R2 for their second French Rally Championship event of the year. The pair were fast out of the blocks in a competitive R2 class but lost time when they spun on SS2. Fortunately, though, they were able to continue.
Their progress was then checked by a series of technical problems, and though they were each resolved, the reigning French Junior Rally champions were unable to focus fully on their race. Despite it all, Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares remained in the top five in their class for most of the event, and showed a flash of their potential by breaking into the top three at one stage.
Fuel-pump connections problems caused them to lose precious minutes on the final stage of the rally, and while they were understandably disappointed at the finish line, Axel’s overall performance gave him plenty of grounds for optimism ahead of the Rallye du Rouergue.
“We’re leaving Limoges a little frustrated because we would have liked to have shown our full potential here. This is the time for us to explode on to the scene at the highest level and I know that we can do that,” said the driver, who was voted Echappement magazine’s Rising Star of 2013. “We had several technical glitches and that prevented us from being totally focused on our race and giving it all we had. We are going to work hard now on getting the car right for Le Rouergue, where our goal will be to achieve top performance.”
“It was a tough rally,” said Renault Sport Technologies Team Manager Sylvain Alanore. “The mechanical gremlins we had really held us back because the performance was there. Aside from the specials, where we had a bit of a struggle, our overall pace was impressive. We can’t wait for the Rouergue now and for the set-up session we’ll be doing in the build-up to it. We are very confident about the potential of Axel and Fabien, who have what it takes to put in an excellent performance when things go right for them.”
The next French Rally Championship event on the pair’s schedule this year is the Rallye Aveyron Rouergue Midi-Pyrénées, which takes place on 11-13 July.
