Emerging rally talent Pierre Campana will resume his bid for the prestigious Clio R3 European Trophy when he contests Rallye International du Valais in Switzerland later today (Thursday 28 October).

The 25-year-old from Corsica, who is rated as one of the most promising young rally drivers in the world, will drive his Munaretto-run Renault Clio R3 backed by Ellip6, a ground-breaking simulator company based in France.

It will be Campana's first attempt on the challenging asphalt rally, which is based in the town of Martigny south-east of Geneva and features 18 mountainous stages totalling 279.77 competitive kilometres.

After four Clio R3 European Trophy rounds, Campana trails Dutch driver Kevin Abbring by six points following his non-finish on Barum Czech Rally Zlin in late August, the result of a rare accident for Campana. He will therefore be looking to make the most of his Tarmac pace on the penultimate round of the highly-competitive one-make series to overhaul Abbring in the title standings.

"My aim all season is to win the Clio R3 European Trophy and thanks to my sponsor Ellip6 I am still in contention for the title with two events remaining," said Campana. "Valais is a new rally for me but I have shown throughout my career that it doesn't take me long to learn new events and get up to speed.

"Because the rally is in the mountains it can be difficult to know what BFGoodrich tyres to use and when because the weather can always be changing. That will increase the challenge but I am ready and will be doing my best to get some good points and keep fighting for the title."

Campana and co-driver Sabrina de Castelli spent the early part of this week learning the stages during the pre-event reconnaissance, which followed their outing on the Como Rally in northern Italy the previous weekend.

A total of 117 competitors will contest the 51st running of Rallye International du Valais, which counts as the final round of the FIA European Rally Championship. The event is due to finish on the afternoon of Saturday 30 October.

For further information:    

www.pierrecampana.com
www.quadrasports.com
media@quadrasports.com
www.ellip6.com

Ajaccio, 28 October 2010