Pierre Ragues has made a huge impression in his debut rally for the 2C Yacco team, finishing on the R5 podium and sixth overall after a dramatic final day in Rallye du Touquet.

 

The opening round of the French Rally Championship delivered thrills and action right from the opening stage on Friday with Pierre involved in a thrilling battle for the R5 podium in his Citroën DS3 R5. 

 

Pierre entered this 56th running of the Rallye du Touquet eligible to score points for his new team, so that was the focus throughout the two days. The Caen-born ace certainly showed his intent on the first day despite a few issues along the way.

 

The weather was dry, sunny but cold with conditions slippery due to dust and gravel on the surface, making life difficult for drivers on both days.  In the first of nine stages on Friday, Pierre had to contend with a wiper malfunction, with water spraying on the windscreen causing a big distraction. He ran wide in SS3 and then had a spin on SS4. He quickly put that experience to good use in the repeat loop, ending the first day in sixth overall, third in the R5 class and second in the hotly contested Michelin Trophy. 

 

Saturday got off to a strong start but in SS11, the second stage of the day, Pierre endured power steering problems that lost him over one minute of time dropping him to fifth in class and 10th overall. Needing a huge push in the remaining stages, Pierre was adamant on recovering the lost positions. 

 

Alongside co-driver Julien Pesenti, Pierre went on full attack rising initially to eighth overall and ultimately to sixth by the end of the rally – third in R5 and second in the Michelin Trophy – an impressive fight back! His result has helped 2C Yacco to leave Rallye du Touquet leading the Teams’ Championship with their other driver, Sylvain Michel, finishing third overall and first in R5.