Pierre Ragues has completed his first competitive motorsport event of the new season with a stunning drive to second overall – and first in class – in Rallye de la Côte Fleurie.

 

Pierre has previous experience of this popular event but to claim second overall only behind a WRC specification car will give the Frenchman a huge boost at the start of a busy new season. 

 

Driving a Citröen DS3 R5 alongside co-driver Julien Pesenti, Pierre was on competitive form throughout the entire event, setting top-two stage times on all stages today to demonstrate impressive performance against experienced challengers.

 

Pierre himself is no stranger to rally and has already proven himself to be quite the talent on French rally stages. This weekend’s performance in the 46th running of the Côte Fleurie sets Pierre up nicely ahead of another year in which he will juggle a drive in the FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as a series of rally events – including a French Rally Championship programme.

Pierre commented: “A fantastic result for us this weekend in what is a very nice event to get our 2016 season underway. It is great to be back rallying and even nicer to have shown such great pace in the Citröen DS3 R5. I am delighted with the performance of the car and the Michelin tyres, and to have finished with a class win and to be second overall only behind a WRC car. The simulator work we carried out with my partners Ellip6 has once again been very beneficial while it was fun to drive alongside Julien. We got everything out of the car and ourselves so we are very happy. Thanks also to Sparco, Top Garage and my friends at GroupAuto; their support is invaluable as we start another fantastic season of rallying and endurance racing. My next rally will be Rallye du Touquet, the opening round of the French Rally Championship. Let’s hope today’s result is the start of a special year.”