4 November 2013
Renault Sport out to end season on a high in Le Valais
The Rallye International du Valais is the last leg of the 2013 European Rally Championship and the season’s seventh asphalt event. Team Renault Sport Technologies will be lining up with a Megane Renaultsport N4 driven by Robert Consani and Vincent Landais. At the end of a long and testing season in which Renault Sport has featured large in the Production category, the team is aiming is to round off the year in the best possible style and score another podium finish. Still recuperating from the injury he sustained at the Croatia Rally, Germain Bonnefis will not be competing in Switzerland.
One of Europe’s classic rallies, the Rallye International du Valais is the 13th and final leg of the 2013 European Rally Championship. Held on asphalt roads at high altitude, this late-season event has the potential for offering some decidedly wintry conditions, with drivers covering a distance of 287 kilometres over the course of its three days.
Robert Consani will go into the rally full of confidence, even if the season’s silverware has already been handed out. Partnered once more by Vincent Landais, the Frenchman has his sights set on a top-three finish in the Production Cup. Though the Megane Renaultsport N4 will be facing opposition in the class from the 4WDs, the Provence driver is nevertheless hoping that the weather will hold and give him every chance of a strong showing.
“We could see some tough conditions during the rally,” said Robert Consani. “For the time being, though, it’s pretty mild and the conditions are not wintry. If the weather stays like this, it’ll be down to us to get some good information on the specials and make the right tyre choice based on grip conditions. It’s all going to come down to tyre strategy. This will be my third rally with Vincent, and we’re beginning to develop an understanding. He’s young but he’s got what it takes to succeed and develop fast.”
He added: “The main problem will be the sheer variety of the routes. There are 11 different timed sectors with some pretty long specials. The recce drives will be essential because we’ll have a lot of information to digest in a short space of time. I’ve never driven in this rally before but I really like mountain specials. I’ve competed in the Rallye du Mont Blanc and I hope we’ll be seeing the same kind of terrain here. We’ll be doing our very best to finish the season as high up as we can.”
The rally starts on Thursday with three specials with a total distance of 30 kilometres. Friday’s itinerary features two loops of three specials run over 110 kilometres, while Saturday is the longest day of all, with eight timed stages and a route of 146 kilometres to cover before the events comes to a finish at 16:30.
