THE fifth round of the Asphalt Rally Championship of France and the Clio R3T France Trophy took to the tortuous twists and turns of the mountains of the Midi Pyrenees last weekend,
Welsh rally driver Sara Williams and co-driver Mark Glennerster finishing a creditable ninth in the latest round of the Renault series, the rally attracting over one hundred entrants.
The temperatures in the Pyrenees were high, putting pressure on both cars and crews, particularly when they hail from Wales, where the ‘hillsides’ weather is usually cooler. The first day included four special stages, the first tackled at midday and some 36 kilometres long, the longest stage Sara had tackled in her rally career.
Developments on the car proved a great improvement, the turbo anti-lag system using higher pressures made the Renault engine much more responsive, as did the grip and handling after discussions with Michelin, a factor that made a massive difference to the pace Sara was able to set over the long hot tarmacadam stages.
It was by no means all smooth going however, with stage two a shorter 12 kilometre test, but made tricky by the presence of loose gravel not seen on the rally practice ‘recce’, but dragged onto the road by cars cutting corners. The first long stage saw a few spots of gravel but the second was described by Sara as ‘like driving on marbles’!
That first day saw the opening two stages repeated, after a 40-minute service halt in Lissac, deep in the French countryside some 600km from Paris. Temperatures had soared, around 50 degrees on the road surface that was actually melting in some places, and that coupled with the increasing gravel made going more treacherous.
But Sara and Mark were still able to improve their times over those set in the morning. Service followed, with the cars then impounded overnight, before six stages on the second day took place in cooler weather due to increasing cloud cover. However increasing humidity made driving and co-driving in the Clio that much more exhausting. Two stages of 12 and 10km were followed by another long run of 31km, thankfully over better surfaces and less gravel, particularly as all three were to be repeated in the afternoon, following a further service halt.
That last loop of stages had a sting in the tail. As the Renault Clio lined up to take the start of the last long stage, raindrops began to spatter the windscreen, and although Sara and Mark were told that it was raining in Rodez, where the rally would finish, there was little detail on conditions on the 36km stage between them and the finish. This made tyre choices more difficult.
At around the halfway point the asphalt ahead could be seen as glistening black in the heavy rain. This made the conditions very slippery for several kilometres before the route dried out, only for the heavy rain to return. Those conditions were repeated throughout the stage, requiring rapid reactions from Sara at the wheel, and from Mark on the route notes, to keep the Clio on the road and up to speed. With tyre grip random to say the least, a finish was vital, and as good a time as possible.
The Brecon Car Rentals, Millers Oils, Excedy Racing Clutches, Motordrive Seats and Mibau Stema Group backed-Renault cleared that final stage successfully after over 200km of flat-out driving through the Pyrenees in the third round of the Clio RT3 France Trophy Championship.
The result – on the pair’s first visit to the Rallye du Rouergue – saw them secure a 46th place overall, and ninth Clio home.
FIA Women in Motorsport Commission member Sara commented: “The three events so far in the Championship have all been new to me and very different, but I’m learning a lot on every one, and we are upping our pace.
“We are already looking forward to Round Four, the Rallye du Mont Blanc at the end of August, in the ski mountains between Geneva and the famed Matterhorn.”