Franceschi “survives” for Renault-powered glory

ByERC

Published 18/09/2021 at 20:30 GMT

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Image credit: ERC

With chief rival Pep Bassas not starting leg two due to damage sustained when the Rallye Team Spain driver crashed his Peugeot 208 Rally4 on SS5, Jean-Baptiste Franceschi took no chances with a cautious drive to the finish in his Renault Clio Rally4.

Co-driven by fellow Frenchman Anthony Gorguilo, Franceschi left morning service six minutes behind schedule while his Toksport WRT mechanics completed additional repairs and checks.

“Like I said to my co-driver it’s more difficult to do stages in survival mode than having to push because of the big lead we had at the start of the day. But we had to survive and finish this day. It was a long day, but our only objective was to score the maximum points for the championship that we could. For sure it was not easy and we had to stay focused because this rally was very difficult for the first time and it’s easy to make a mistake or have problems. I am happy with this result and thank you to Renault Sport and my team, Toksport, for this opportunity.”

Franceschi’s Toksport WRT team-mate Ola Jr Nore was a non-starter in his identical Clio Rally4.

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