Driving a Renault Clio Renaultsport R3 for Team Visa Location – Groupe Jeandot, Manu Guigou clinched the Rallye de Nouvelle Caledonie title, helping Renault to land the manufacturers’ and 2WD crowns in the process.

Comprising four legs in all, the Championnat de Nouvelle-Calédonie des Rallyes features the most exciting rallies on the island and attracts a number of international drivers, with the event kicking off with the latest round in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).

“It was a very exciting challenge and I had a pretty big objective to meet, i.e. to get to grips with the championship on roads that are often covered in loose gravel,” said Guigou. “We were also up against some big-name rivals with a lot of experience on these roads.”

The list of entrants for the opening APRC event featured a clutch of World Rally Championship regulars, among them Chris Atkinson, P-G Andersson and Alister McRae.

Victory in the 2WD class in the opening round gave Guigou in the lead in the Championnat de Nouvelle-Calédonie des Rallyes standings and, though he then retired in the Rallye de Kouaoua, he took his Clio Renaultsport R3 back to the top of the podium in the Rallye de Poya.

By the time the start of the Rallye du Sud came around, the Team Visa Location – Groupe Jeandot driver was the master of his own destiny: “The key thing was to focus on the championship and score the points we needed, and I managed to do that. I’m very proud to have achieved the goal we set with Philippe Blanche and Jacques Jeandot.”

He added: “It’s also a great result for the importer Sodauto. Titles like this are a big boost when it comes to marketing and help bring a sporty touch. There have been quite a few marketing campaigns based on our results this season.”

Discussing the car, he said: “The handling of the Clio Renaultsport R3 and the traction it offers have also been big assets for us. Even so, we didn’t have it easy against Brian Green of New Zealand, driving a Lancer, and Jean-Louis Leyraud, who’s won ten titles and was driving a DS3. For me the season boiled down to two big moments: the scratch win in the Rallye de Poya and our performances in the APRC leg, which was long and tough and bit like going on safari.

“Together we’ve managed to win all the titles: manufacturers’ 2WD and the drivers’. The team’s done a great job, from setting up the Clio Renaultsport R3 on site, to running it all the way through the season.”

Aside from the thrill of victory, the Championnat de Nouvelle-Calédonie des Rallyes proved memorable for Manu Guigou in many other ways: “The island has some great specials and wonderful landscapes, and we got a fantastic welcome there. The drivers were all a great bunch of people too. We didn’t have any time for sightseeing, which was a shame, but it’s a place that’s well worth a visit.”

The New Caledonia title is the latest success on Manu Guigou’s career CV. As well as topping the promotion standings in the 2003 French Rally Championship, he also won back-to-back 2WD titles in the French Dirt Rally Championship in 2007 and 2008 and helped Renault land manufacturers’ titles in France in 2003 and in Belgium in 2004.