WRC – Romain Dumas changes world with Monte-Carlo

After trying the Dakar which unfortunately ended in an abandonment, Romain Dumas only had a few days to concentrate on le Rally Monte Carlo that he will compete next week at the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0l inscrite en R-GT who will wear number 23. The winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010 is preparing for a new discovery very different from that experienced in Rally-Raid.

“We prepared well, but I think we are never really prepared for the Monte-Carlo! », commented Romain Dumas. “ It’s such an unusual rally! It will certainly take me a little time to get back into the right rhythm, the objective being to gain strength over the stages and progress step by step. It's a meeting that is close to my heart and I hope to shine in the R-GT category, where there will undoubtedly be some great battles. I can't wait to discover this legendary test which is full of traps. »

As a Porsche driver, Romain Dumas will wear the livery of the 911 S driven by Björn Waldegard in 1970 during his success in the Monaco event. “I am one of the fervent defenders of the R-GT in rallying and I am happy to be at the start of Monte-Carlo with a Porsche”, added the 36-year-old Frenchman. “With the team, we had already thought about it over the last few years and we already had this idea of ​​making a nod to one of the four Porsche victories. 1970 was the year of a historic treble for Porsche and Björn Waldegard marked his era, among other things by being the first world rally champion and winning the Monte Carlo twice with Porsche. He left us last summer and it is a humble tribute that we wanted to pay for the great champion that he was. We all have to rise to the occasion because I consider it a responsibility. This is not trivial. A Porsche with this color is inevitably associated with Monte-Carlo and a successful performance. I hope this will be the case in R-GT. »