On his debut in the Polo R5, Pierre Ragues has earned a dominant victory in Rallye Saint-Germain-La-Campagne, part of the prestigious Coupe de France des Rallyes. The result marked Pierre’s second win in this popular Normandy-based event, having also sealed the win three years ago.  

 

It was a near-perfect performance from the Caen star as he claimed five out of six stage wins, finishing the event over 19 seconds ahead of his nearest challengers: a dream debut in the Michelin-tyred Polo R5, run by Team Racing Service. The result scores Pierre valuable points towards his plan to compete in the 2021 Coupe de France final.

 

The 41st running of the Saint-Germain-La-Campagne got underway on Saturday’s opening stage, the 2.9km La Duquerie, in which Pierre finished 0.1-seconds down on the early pace setting crew Sébastien Alemany and Chloé Bigot. 

 

Pierre, competing alongside Julien Pesenti in the co-driving seat once again, took the rally lead on Sunday’s opening stage - aptly entitled La Croix de Pierre (9.3km) - and gradually extended his advantage over the day. He topped the timesheets on the following stage, Le Marais (4.6km) and on all repeat runs on both routes, ending with an 11-second advantage on the final run through La Croix de Pierre.

 

For Pierre, the result is a welcome boost following a competitive, but ultimately disappointing result in the FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa and will be motivation for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pierre has again shown his natural aptitude for rallying, adding a new accolade to his impressive resume of results; he will be looking to expand his rally commitments to dovetail with his continued aspirations in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

 

Pierre said: “This was a fantastic result on our debut in the Volkswagen Polo R5. I am incredibly proud of this win, which brings back so many good memories of when I won here a few years ago. It was especially pleasing in his first rally for some time, and to take five stage wins out of six. I was really getting more and more out of the car and myself as the day went on, building confidence and performance with each kilometre. Thanks to the support of YACCO and Groupe Polmar, we have quickly found our rhythm in this fantastic Polo R5 with Michelin tyres; rallying continues to play an important part in my career, alongside WEC. I hope to have the chance to compete in more events, including the Coupe de France 2021 final.”

 

1. P. Ragues / J. Pesenti 22:13.4 

2. S. Alemany / C. Bigot +19.2s

3. S. Pustelnik / L. Pustelnik +48.2s

4. F. Hervieu / M. Hervieu +1:08.6s

5. A. Margely / A. Vay +1:09.2