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Just hours after being confirmed as Romanian Rally Champion for a third consecutive season, Francois Delecour arrived in Strasbourg ready to test Tuthill Porsche’s 911 RGT today. And he loved it.
The team completed 60 kilometres of running in a stage close to the base of Rallye de France Alsace, this week’s 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
After an initial seat fitting and reconnaissance run, Delecour was immediately into his stride with the Tuthill car. The only changes he made to the car were some minor suspension adjustments. The test ran without fault and the team is now looking ahead to the first competitive action on Friday morning.
Prior to the opening test, Delecour and his co-driver Dominique Savignoni will conduct a two-day recce (Tuesday-Wednesday) of the Vosges mountain stages, which run as far south as Mulhouse and just north of Saverne. They will then make one final test of the car at the official pre-event shakedown stage on Thursday morning.
Today’s test was run in warm, dry weather and those conditions are expected to continue into the event. This event is, however, prone to rapid meteorological change; if rain does come, it’s believed most likely on the final day (Sunday).
Francois Delecour said: “I am so happy. So, so, so happy. The car is a good car, the perfect car! I did not really know what to expect when I get to the test today. Of course, I know Tuthill and I know they make the good car, but I did not know what RGT would be like. Let me tell you, I like. I like a lot. It’s beautiful.
“The test stage today was over the bumps, through some narrow, on the fast road, the dirty road; everywhere, this car was fantastic. OK, sometimes it’s complicated and you have to wait a little bit coming from the slow corners, but in the fast, it is amazing. My target is definitely to fight the R5 cars. Today at the test there were some [R5 cars] and now I really think we can try to beat them. Of course, there will also be the big fight with Romain [Dumas] in the other Porsche.
“One thing I will say for sure is that the fans in France this week are going to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy this car. The sound is like the melody and the car is just beautiful – it’s like the lady, you must give it respect and treat it gently. I have a big passion for the Porsche and, after this test, I have a big, big passion for competing on Rallye de France.
“It’s also very nice to arrive as the Romanian Rally Champion for this year. This is the third time I win this title, but this time it’s really nice. Last year I win with the Peugeot 207 S2000, but this time I had to take the Subaru Group N car and for me to win against many, many, many R5s, R4s S2000s, it was very good. It’s a good way to start the week!”
Richard Tuthill said: “Francois knows a lot about Porsches, so when he steps out of the car and talks about our 911 RGT being the best chassis he has driven, that’s really nice to hear. The test went entirely to plan, I’m happy to say. We worked on some damper clicks, but that was about all. He was happy with the set-up which I came up with for Germany – which is quite reassuring for me, turns out I haven’t completely forgotten how to drive!
“Seriously, though, it’s just fantastic to have Francois with us. The response we’re getting to him being in the car is amazing – and the rally hasn’t even started yet!”
Fans of François Delecour and the Tuthill Porsche 911 RGT can follow the latest WRC news at www.WRC.com.
