Romain Dumas makes the Porsche shine

Winner of the second round of the French rally championship, Dany Snobeck (Citroën C4 WRC) certainly led the Lyon-Charbonnières from the first to the last special. But Romain Dumas did exactly the same in the Michelin Trophy, this Promotion classification which concerns private crews (non-FIA priority drivers, not supported by a manufacturer, not entered in WRC, group Z or kit cars). The Alésien, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010 on Audi but this is not his first experience in rally, signed two absolute best times, the first two for a car in the new GT+ category in France.

« It was fertile ground for Porsche, analyzes Romain. The car worked well but I didn't think I would get on the final podium. It's a very good result for the whole team and I'm very happy that our work on this car over the past six months is bearing fruit. All of this requires a lot of investment and time, and I don't have a lot of that! But rallying is a perfect complement to my activities on the circuit ».

« We still have a lot of work to do, but with such a foundation, I believe we can play spoilsport every time. », concludes Dumas. Not exactly next time, since the third round of the French rally championship will be held in Limousin from June 2 to 4, a week before the 24 2011 Hours of Le Mans where he will put his crown on the line again, with his teammates Timo Bernhard and Mike Rockenfeller, on the Audi R18 TDI.

Discover in your AUTOhebdo magazine, currently on newsstands, the complete report of the Lyon Charbonnières-Rhône rally.