Yohan Rossel to prepare the Canaries for the Vaison-la-Romaine Rally

During the 41st edition of the Vaison-la-Romaine Regional Rally (March 1-2), Yohan Rossel will be present at the start with his Citroën C3 in order to train for his next round in WRC2 in Spain. The winner of the Monte-Carlo in this category wants to refine his knowledge of the new tires.

Published 25/02/2025 à 09:00

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If the Hankook cap already suits him well, Yohan Rossel now wants to understand how South Korean rubber works (Photo: Nikos Katikis/DPPI)

During Monte Carlo and Sweden, it became clear that one of the major parameters to master this year was the exploitation of the tires. With the arrival of Hankook as the sole manufacturer, the competitors of the world championship had to revise their approach to the wet and cold, but also icy special stages of the Great North. Some like Kalle Rovanperä have not yet succeeded, with the damage that this can cause for confidence and the delay of points in the championship.

In order to avoid a similar disappointment during his next appearance in WRC2, Yohan Rossel has decided to take part in a no-holds-barred event in which he will be able to discover the South Korean tyres. Spectators who will be seated on the edge of the beautiful special stages of Propiac or Combes de Veaux in Vaucluse (84) will have the chance to see the leader (tied with Oliver Solberg) of WRC2 evolve. The Gardois who has just celebrated his 30th birthday will line up with his team's C3 Rally2. Alongside him, Jean-François Mancini will officiate as co-driver.

In addition to the presence of Rossel, the work of Team Vasio Romain, the organizers, is rewarded by a list of entrants that is complete with 150 competitors. Anthony Puppo (Hyundai i20), Maxime Belhomme (Fabia Rally2 Evo) or Cédric Scotto La Chianca (Fabia Rally2) will try to give Yohan a reply. For the latter, it will not be the first time that he prepares for an elite round at a lower level. In 2022, he competed in the Vin des Corbières before the Catalunya, in 2023, he was at the start of the National winter of Dévoluy with the Monte-Carlo in mind and last year, he went as far as Alsace to line up on the National Centre Alsace a few days before Central Europe. If the behavior of the Hankook tires turns out to be as different as that of the Pirelli on dry tarmac, the 6 special stages and the 40 km timed tests of the program will be useful to rough out the work before Spain.

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