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[18-03-2017]
CHALLENGING CONDITIONS AT LE TOUQUET PREVENT PIERRE RAGUES FROM PODIUM PUSH Photo News
Pierre Ragues has completed this weekend’s 57th running of the Rallye du Touquet Pas de Calais in eighth position overall, sixth in the R5 class and fifth in the prestigious Michelin Trophy. 
 
Pierre had fought near the front for much of the rally but in an extremely competitive field and with challenging conditions, even the smallest fraction of time made a big difference on the classification.
 
Having secured an R5 victory at Rallye de la Côte Fleurie, the Frenchman was hoping to mount a strong fight in his Skoda Fabia R5 alongside co-driver Julien Pesenti. 
 
On Friday’s opening loop, Pierre’s intentions were clear as he ended the first stages as the leading R5 and second overall, just 4.7s adrift. In dry conditions, he was well and truly in the hunt for another podium result. He continued this form into the second loop, holding third place overall but just two seconds from the pace setter. 
 
In the night stages, Pierre lost some time but was involved in a close battle inside the top-five after 11 of the 18 stages. Only 22 seconds split the top-five cars.
 
Tough conditions greeted the drivers on Saturday morning after overnight rain. Pierre had a tricky time in the poor surface conditions, enduring two spins in SS12, which lost him 35 seconds. The surface was not conducive to competitive rallying with damp and muddy patches throughout. 
 
Pierre had picked up some front suspension damage from SS12 after touching a stone, with no chance to make changes for the following two stages.  Struggling with the car’s handling, Pierre persevered and changed the wheel bearings at the end of the loop service in an effort to improve pace. 
 
Persistent rain in the second loop meant there was no opportunity for Pierre and Julien to fight back, although they ended the rally in style with the fastest time in the final stage. All in all, it was a character-building weekend in which Pierre reiterated his raw rally pace and competitiveness. He certainly showed his capabilities to fight at the same level of the French Championship stars and specialists.
 
Pierre commented: “It was a rally of two halves for me and Julien. We started on Friday feeling really confident in our potential and in the Skoda Fabia R5. We showed some great pace in the opening loop and were definitely in the hunt for the podium. As the day progressed, I felt more comfortable and apart from losing a bit of time in the evening stages I was sure we would be able to continue our rhythm. Unfortunately, the weather conditions today made life very difficult. The terrain was very damp and muddy, so we knew it was going to be tough. I had two spins on the opening stage, which lost 35 seconds but any chance we had of regaining that lost time was gone when the rain hampered the afternoon. It was a real disappointment because we had shown on Friday that we could push for a podium and R5 win this weekend. We can always find things to learn even from difficult weekends, so that’s what we will try to do. Despite everything, the car was fantastic. As always, thanks to my partners GroupAuto, Top Garage, Sparco, Ellip6 and to Yacco for their support.”