Things are happening very fast for Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares this season. Though less than six months have passed since they won the French Junior Rally title in the Renault Twingo R.S. R1, the duo from Herault have driven three different Renault rally cars.

After putting the Twingo R.S. R2 through its paces at the Rallye du Touquet, they stepped up a level in the Rallye Terre des Causses, taking to the wheel of a Renault Clio R.S. R3 in an event not included in their official programme. Contesting their first dirt rally, in the French 2WD Championship, they made an impact with their fast pace and spent most of the event challenging for the win.

The pair were then invited by Renault Sport Technologies to take part in a Renault Clio R.S. R3T development session. The car will be making its competitive debut in the second half of the season, with Axel Garcia making his first WRC outing in it at the Rallye de France – Alsace in early October.

“Stepping up from the R1 to the R2 and then the R3 is fantastic,” said Axel Garcia. “We’ve shown that we can adapt very quickly. The Rallye des Causses was our first dirt event and we were surprised to find so much speed in the first few specials. The Clio R3 is a very good car. It’s easy to handle and it gave us the confidence to go on the attack. Unfortunately, we made a mistake and it stopped us from going for the win in the French 2WD Championship. We’re happy with our overall performance, though, and the fact that we managed to make a mark at that level.”

He added: “We then drove the Clio R.S. R3T. It was an honour for us to take part in an official development session. It’s a tremendously efficient car and I can’t wait to drive it in the French Rally Championship. We put the very high quality of the chassis/engine unit to the test, and I have to say we were amazed by it. It’s going to be incredible to drive the car in Alsace and I’d like to thank Renault Sport Technologies for giving me this opportunity.”

The next stage in the reigning French Junior champion’s apprenticeship is the Rallye Région Limousin – Lac de Vassivière. The second of the French Rally Championship events on his schedule this year, it should see him hit top speed, especially after having got to grips with the Twingo R.S. R2 at Le Touquet.

“The testing session at the rally will allow us to find our bearings again,” continued Axel. “The first thing we’ll need to do is set the car up for the conditions we’re going to find in the Limousin. At Le Touquet we were able to get a feel for how the car handles, but what we need to do new is step up a level without getting too carried away. We’re going to try and fight it out in R2 and show we mean business. Like I did at the Rallye des Causses, though, I’m going to concentrate on the race and let Fabien keep an eye on where we are in the standings. If we’re in with a chance, then we’ll go for it. We liked the terrain there last year. There was a lot of grip and we managed to get the win in the Junior event.”

Renault Sport Technologies Team Manager Sylvain Alanore said the maturity shown by Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares should allow them to continue making progress this season.

“The challenge facing Axel in the Limousin will be to adapt his driving style to the car’s settings, which won’t be exactly the same as they were at Le Touquet,” said Sylvain. “He’s shown in the last few weeks, though, that he can adapt, starting at the Rallye des Causses. Axel was really competitive, considering it was his first rally on dirt and his first time in an R3. He had no qualms at all about taking part in a Clio R3T development session either. He made a useful contribution, adding to what we’d heard from some more experienced drivers. He has a real gift for adapting to a car right from the off. He knows the car he’ll be driving at the Rallye du Limousin and he’ll need to make the most of its excellent dynamics. There’ll be some stiff competition in R2 but the scene’s set for him to put on a good display. His next challenge will be to handle the pressure generated by his recent performances.”

The Rallye Région Limousin – Lac de Vassivière will take place on 8-10 May. It starts on Friday 9 May with two special stages, which will be run twice, followed by the Limoges-Ester super special, taking the day’s race distance up to 82 kilometres. Saturday’s schedule is made up of two loops of three specials, covering 118 kilometres in total, with the rally coming to a close at 19:00 at the Ester Technology Park.

Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares’ 2014 schedule

13-15 March, Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais (French Rally Championship)
8-10 May: Rallye Région Limousin - Lac de Vassivière (French Rally Championship)
11-13 July: Rallye Aveyron Rouergue Midi-Pyrénées (French Rally Championship)
4-6 September: Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine (French Rally Championship)
3-5 October: Rallye de France – Alsace (World Rally Championship)
24-26 October: Critérium des Cévennes (French Rally Championship)
28-30 November: Rallye du Var (French Rally Championship)