Having picked up plenty of experience in the opening rounds, the crews formed by Germain Bonnefis and Olivier Fournier and Robert Consani and Nicolas Klinger are bracing themselves for a busy second half of the FIA European Rally Championship season. All but one of the five remaining rounds are on asphalt, and the Renault Sport Technologies team will be competing at all four of those events, starting with the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, which promises to play a pivotal role in the race for the Production Cup drivers and teams titles.

After enduring a frustrating time at the Geko Ypres Rally in late June, Robert Consani is hoping for a more productive weekend in Czech Republic. “I really like this rally even though I’ve never had much success in it,” said Robert, who will once again be teaming up with co-driver Nicolas Klinger. “I made my international debut here, in the Clio R3 European Trophy. This is my fourth time in the event and I’m starting to get a very good feel for the roads. I really love the atmosphere you get in Zlin and on the specials. I’m very keen to do well in this event.”

Though the Renault Sport drivers have not been in action since Ypres, Robert Consani used the summer break to step up his preparations for the decisive second half of the season: “I didn’t take any holidays but I’ve been doing plenty of sport to get myself in perfect shape for Zlin, and even went to a training camp in Austria to improve my fitness. This rally will be a real test. The roads are slippery, with lots of broken sections of tarmac, and there are trees right on the roadside too, all of which means there’ll be no margin for error. Even so we’ll be going flat out to try and score as many points as possible.”

Stablemate Germain Bonnefis has also been preparing hard for Zlin during the two-month summer layoff. “Though it’s been a long break, we’ve stayed in the swing of things,” he said. “I was a gravel crew driver in a Megane R.S. at the Rallye du Rouergue, and I also competed in two rallies, driving a Renault 5 Alpine in a historic rally and a Renault Clio R.S. at an event in Madagascar. I’m more than ready now for the second half of the ERC season.”

Known for his ability to adapt to different types of road surfaces, Germain Bonnefis is expecting a genuine test of his driving skills at the Barum Czech Rally Zlin: “This is my first time at the event but I know the roads are tough, narrow and bumpy and not what we’re used to at all. I’ll need to take care and not get ahead of myself. The competition will be stiff and we’ll be up against a lot of drivers with experience of these roads. All the same, we’ll be giving it our very best shot and trying to get in among the points. We’re pleased with the start we made to the season and we’re hoping to keep it up, with the team title as our main priority.”

Following a shakedown in the morning, the rally gets under way on Friday evening with a special through the streets of Zlin. Fourteen more specials are on the card on Saturday and Sunday in an event comprising a total stage distance of 235 kilometres.