[30-11-2014]
PIERRE RAGUES GATHERS VITAL EXPERIENCE IN EXTREME CONDITIONS AT RALLYE DU VAR
 Pierre Ragues has accumulated a huge amount of experience in this weekend’s Rallye du Var, the final round of the 2014 French Rally Championship, despite retiring from the rally this morning just before the final stage.
Torrential weather conditions have affected this year’s Rallye du Var with significant rainfall forcing stage cancellations and making for some impossibly tricky conditions for drivers. For Ragues, still a rally novice, the weekend has offered a valuable and beneficial challenge.
Despite the conditions and cancellation of SS3 on Friday, Pierre ended the day battling in the top 20 positions, and from there he continued to fight hard, showing his usual determination and fighting spirit.
Saturday saw drier conditions, although windy, but two stages were cancelled due to high numbers of spectators in SS7 and poor road conditions on SS9. Nonetheless, the rally continued with Pierre putting in a strong performance and mounting a challenge for the top ten. Even though he lost around 30 seconds of time in the night stage, he was satisfied heading into the final day.
Unfortunately, on Sunday morning, Ragues went off at a left-hander in SS10, rolling his Peugeot 208 R5. He was able to return to the road to finish the stage. He then took a cautious approach to finish SS11 but at service, it was determined that the damage to the car was too bad and he was forced to retire from the event. Alongside his co-driving father Marcel Ragues, Pierre made a solid impression in the tough rally, fighting for the top ten and a class podium.
With more heavy rain this morning making surfaces even more challenging, there were a lot of off-road moments for many drivers, so Ragues, in only his second event with the Peugeot and working with the Munaretto squad, performed strongly despite the disappointing end to the rally.
Pierre has tasted podium success in rallying this year but Rallye du Var certainly offered a new experience for the talented Frenchman, who has once again been supported by partners Group Auto, Sparco and with help from leading simulation company Ellip6.
Pierre commented: “That rally has been one of the hardest challenges in my career with some of the most terrible weather conditions I’ve seen. It was a challenge in every stage to keep focussed and keep the car on the road. I fought hard throughout the event to and I feel pleased overall to have been in contention for a top ten position and category podium in the Peugeot 208 R5. It was disappointing that we went off in SS10 and rolled the car. Thankfully we were unharmed and could get back on the road, but the damage to the car was too much and we had to retire. The end of this tough rally was in sight so it was frustrating but there were plenty of others getting caught out in the horrible conditions. It was a pleasure working with the Munaretto team once again and the Peugeot 208 R5 performed solidly all weekend; I gained more and more confidence and overall it has been a very valuable learning experience for me. Thanks to my partners at Group Auto and Sparco, as well as the guys at Ellip6. Their support throughout this entire season has been fantastic! I would also like to commend the organisers of the rally for making sure the rally could continue despite the conditions.”
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