Pierre Ragues has added another FIA World Rally Championship event to his busy 2021 schedule as he is set to participate in the first-ever WRC round of Rally Croatia in late April.

 

Pierre will return to the Volkswagen Polo R5, with which he was victorious on his debut last August, ahead of his continued involvement in the 2021 FIA R-GT Coupe du Monde with the Alpine A110 Rally, whose second round (Rallye International Ain-Jura) takes place in May.

 

The addition of Rally Croatia will intensify Pierre’s preparations for the rest of the season and offer another opportunity for the Frenchman to add to his increasing repertoire in international rallying.

 

Further to impressive R-GT category performances at the final round of the 2020 WRC season in Monza - and again at the 2021 season opener in Monte-Carlo - Pierre will be aiming to make a positive impression in competitive R5 category in a Polo supported by the Volkswagen dealer Groupe Polmar.

 

Once again, Pierre will be co-driven by the experienced Julien Pesenti with Croatia representing the crew’s third WRC round in the space of a five-month period. Pierre will also have backing from Yacco, First, Sparco and support from Racing Services in the Pirelli-equipped R5 car as he joins the WRC community in this brand-new event, the first of the season on tarmac. 

 

Pierre said: “Rally Croatia is an exciting addition to my 2021 rally schedule, following an enjoyable opening round of the WRC season at Rallye Monte-Carlo back in January. I am delighted to return to the Volkswagen Polo R5, in which I won on my debut at Rallye Saint-Germain-La-Campagne last summer. This will be the first time WRC has competed at Rally Croatia, so it will be a big learning curve for all crews and teams. As an asphalt rally, it will be very different to Monte, but one which I am looking forward to experiencing. The entire event will be an important weekend for me and Julien outside of our R-GT Coupe du Monde season with Alpine. I am grateful to Yacco, First, Sparco and Groupe Polmar for their support, as well as Racing Services. I am very enthusiastic to take part in Rally Croatia and pleased to have this fantastic opportunity to compete in extra events to complement my Coupe du Monde programme.”