[11-03-2017]
PIERRE RAGUES AIMS TO MAINTAIN FRONT-RUNNING PACE AT LE TOUQUET
 Fresh from his R5 victory at Rallye de la Côte Fleurie just a few weeks ago, Pierre Ragues will be back behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia R5 next weekend, for the 57th running of Rallye du Touquet Pas de Calais.
Pierre, who finished second overall in his first event of the 2017 campaign, will resume his programme alongside co-driver Julien Pesenti in the popular 18-stage Touquet rally.
The Frenchman will be on the hunt for more stage wins and another fight for the podium in the two-day event, which covers a total of 209.25km special stages from Friday 17-Saturday 18 March.
Friday’s itinerary takes in a loop of three stages – Bernieulles-Inxent-Beussent, Bourthes-Ergny and Senlecques Souvenir Alain Nicole – run three times during the day. There will also be two attempts at the seafront Le Touquet Front de Mer test, which will also act as the rally finale on Saturday.
Before that, on the second day, competitors will face another repeat trio of demanding stages. It will all be second nature to Pierre after his recent seasons of rally experience, which have included prior participation at Le Touquet. The Caen born driver will be hoping to use his result from Côte Fleurie as a springboard for more success in 2017.
Pierre commented: “After the fantastic weekend at Rallye de la Côte Fleurie, I am pleased to have the chance to return to rallying so quickly. I had a great time behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia R5 with Julien – and with amazing support from Yacco and my partners GroupAuto, Top Garage, Sparco and Ellip6. I was really pleased to secure the R5 win but it’s even more special when we’re fighting against such tough competitors. Finishing as top R5 and on the overall podium is my aim for next weekend, but we know that the challenges presented by Le Touquet. It’s a longer rally, run over two days, so we will have to be focused on the job in hand. It’ll be another great atmosphere and I can’t wait to tackle the stages.”
SCHEDULE
Friday 17 March 2017
09h55 SS1 Bernieulles-Inxent-Beussent 14.11km
10h40 SS2 Bourthes-Ergny 13.50km
11h17 SS3 Senlecques Souvenir Alain Nicole 14.40km
13h53 SS4 Le Touquet Front de Mer 2.20km
14h29 SS5 Bernieulles-Inxent-Beussent 14.11km
15h14 SS6 Bourthes-Ergny 13.50km
15h51 SS7 Senlecques Souvenir Alain Nicole 14.40km
18h27 SS8 Le Touquet Front de Mer 2.20km
19h03 SS9 Bernieulles-Inxent-Beussent 14.11km
19h48 SS10 Bourthes-Ergny 13.50km
20h25 SS11 Senlecques Souvenir Alain Nicole 14.40km
Saturday 18 March 2017
09h19 SS12 Marant-Aix en Issart-St. Denouex-Sempy 12.75km
09h39 SS13 Clenleu-Hucqueliers 12.10km
10h31 SS14 Crequy-Rimboval-Embry-St. Michel/Bois 13.46km
13h36 SS15 Marant-Aix en Issart-St. Denouex-Sempy 12.75km
13h56 SS16 Clenleu-Hucqueliers 12.10km
14h48 SS17 Crequy-Rimboval-Embry-St. Michel/Bois 13.46km
16h20 SS18 Le Touquet Front de Mer 2.20km
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