After his win in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Romain Dumas headed to Corsica to take part in the Ronde de la Giraglia. A rally contested on similar grounds as the Tour de Corse, fourth round of the IRC. Behind the wheel of his Porsche 997 GT3 RS and with his co-driver Matthieu Baumel, Romain Dumas finished second in the overall classification, with stage times that rivaled the top international drivers.
During the six special stages scheduled for this Saturday, Romain Dumas consistently battled with the Peugeot 307 WRC of Pascal Trojani. At the end of this duel, and despite a scratch time on one stage, he finishes second in the general classification, only 13 seconds off the winner. « We didn’t win, but we really enjoyed ourselves » said the French driver, smiling. « Contrary to the Rallye Lyon-Charbonnières, the roads were not favorable for us : it was twisty, too much so to fight with a WRC, but I’m taking away only good things from this rally. Despite this tight route, we were always in the fight. We’ve rarely driven in such high temperatures, and the reliability was perfect. I progressed again, just as the team progressed in terms of setup.This experience will be beneficial : it gives us new directions to go in. »
Running on the same roads as the IRC Tour de Corse, the 42nd Rallye National « Ronde de la Giraglia » also allowed Romain Dumas to sharpen his skills. « We had special stages that were identical to the IRC » he explains. « This gaves us the opportunity to do a direct comparison and the conclusion is simple. We are in the same times as the Mini JCW S2000 of Dani Sordo, the Skoda Fabia Super 2000 and the Peugeot 207. We would have been running up front by comparison. It’s interesting : this confirms that we’re advancing in the right direction and this motivates us to do even better. »
It’s worth noting that a second Pôle Mécanique d’Alès prepared Porsche also entered by Team Romain Dumas competed in the Giraglia. Driven by Ange-Pierre Cordoliani, this Porsche 996 GT3 RS won the GT category and finished fourth overall. « I’m happy for Ange-Pierre who had a good rally, and I’m satisfied to see the two Porsches at the finish in these positions » concludes Romain Dumas.
Source : Romain Dumas