Team Renault Sport Technologies is brimming with determination as it heads into the last three asphalt rallies of the European Rally Championship campaign. The Croatia Rally will be a whole new experience for the crews formed by Germain Bonnefis and Olivier Fournier and Robert Consani and Nicolas Klinger, though they will be far from alone in that regard.

Currently third in the ERC Production Cup Drivers standings, Germain Bonnefis is excited at the prospect of getting to grips with a new event: “We’ll be on an equal footing with our rivals, who don’t have any more experience than we do on this terrain. I’ve seen the videos laid on by the organisers and I think the specials will suit my style of driving and the car’s strengths. They’re fast, narrow and technical roads and the route profile is Mediterranean, which will give us the chance to show that the Megane Renaultsport N4 is the best 2WD out there, especially if it stays dry.”

With so much at stake, the 2012 French Dirt Rally champion is well aware of the need to get the best possible result: “Our aim is to go all the way in the three events remaining. We need to be consistent and score as many points as we can with the two cars,” said the Aveyron driver. “In terms of pure performance, we’re always going to beat our direct rivals, which means reliability will be the key. In the drivers’ standings our main rival is Andreas Aigner, who drives a 4WD. We’ve got an ace up our sleeve in Croatia, where we’ve got the potential to get our best result of the season.”

Though well off the pace in the drivers’ standings, Robert Consani is intent on scoring precious points for Team Renault Sport Technologies. “Having never driven this rally before and gone off the road at the Barum, I’ll be taking it easy to start with,” said Robert. “The main thing is to get some confidence back, get through a lot of kilometres in the car and make the finish line. I want to turn the page and move on from the first half of the season, when things didn’t work out for me. Anything is possible for Team Renault Sport Technologies and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

Contested over a competitive distance of 239 kilometres, the 14-stage Croatia Rally begins on 26 September with the Porec Super Special and continues on Friday and Saturday with two loops featuring three specials each on both days, before a second run in the Porec Super Special on Saturday afternoon.