Fresh from completing a final testing session at the start of the week, Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares had their eyes set on success when they took to the start line at the Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais. While the duo were pleased to see dry conditions, the presence of patches of dried mud on the roads made life difficult for them, so much so that they damaged their right rear axle in a shunt in the first special. Ploughing on regardless, they ended day one in 12th place in the R2 standings.

The roads were dusty and slippery on day two, though that did not stop the pair from upping the pace and climbing the standings, thanks to some increasingly fast times. After eventually crossing the line in eighth place, Axel Garcia expressed his delight at avoiding any further mishaps and completing an encouraging competitive debut in the Twingo R.S. R2 Evo.

“We are very pleased with our race, despite the tough conditions,” said Axel Garcia. “We had a difficult start to the weekend, with a shunt at the end of SS1, which left the axle exposed for the rest of the rally. We took our time getting used to the car and we gradually found our bearings, though the terrain made it very hard to get the settings right. The grip conditions were changeable, with some sections covered in mud and others offering a lot of grip.”

Aside from his performance on the road, Axel Garcia was also delighted at the prospect of being able to work with Renault Sport Technologies throughout the campaign. “The support I’ve had at this event has been fantastic. It’s been a real pleasure to wear the Renault Sport overalls and to be able to make the most of a set-up that the whole team worked towards. This is also the first time that I’ve worked with a gravel crew. It really helped me a lot and allowed me to get my pace notes just right and get a better understanding of the specials. My co-driver Fabien was just perfect too. He gave me support and calmed me down when I needed it.”

Describing the weekend’s events as very encouraging, Renault Sport Technologies Team Manager Sylvain Alanore said: “Axel was full of confidence but the shunt he had on Friday held him back a little. The main objective, though, was to get to grips with the car and he managed to do that. In terms of his expectations and performance, Saturday was much more what he was looking for. He developed his relationship with the team and his race management. What he needs to do is get his feelings about the car’s behaviour across to the engineer accurately so that we can make the settings even better. It’s a new challenge for him and it’s all part of his learning curve.”

Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares will next be in action at the Rallye Région Limousin, on 8-10 May.