François Delecour treated his home fans to a display of inch-perfect driving as he thundered through the Saverne woods north of Strasbourg in Tuthill Porsche’s 911 RGT. The Frenchman was unbeatable in R-GT on this final day of Rallye de France Alsace.
Francois Delecour and the impressive Porsche 911 RGT.Delecour bounced back from the disappointment of yesterday’s retirement with a string of fastest times in the R-GT class. The final day consisted of two stages run twice in the Saverne area. Both stages were new for this year and the Frenchman made the most of the level playing field this offered. He was faster than class rival Romain Dumas through all four.
The Below Zero Ice Driving-backed Porsche ran without fault through the final day. A precautionary change of clutch is the only mechanical work the team has carried out on the 911 for the duration of the rally.
It’s now time for the next chapter in the Tuthill Porsche team’s European adventure. Half of the team will fly back to base in Oxfordshire while the rest turn south, bound for San Marino and the RALLYLEGEND event, where Delecour’s name will be replaced by one equally as evocative and emotional. For France read Finland, for François read Harri… Toivonen.
More of that next week.
François Delecour said:
“I was so happy when Richard [Tuthill] told me we were going out again today. Any time driving this car is a good time. I have enjoyed so much driving the Porsche and to win every stage today is a nice way to end. Like I told you before the start, this was my dream to bring this car to a World Rally Championship and I thank the Tuthill Porsche team for making this dream come true. Now, I am going to work for R-GT Cup next year. I want to compete in this championship. It will be so, so incredible to be on the start line in Monte Carlo in one of these cars. That’s another dream for another day. ”
Richard Tuthill said:
“It was really important for us to get back out in the car today. And what a great day it’s been – fastest everywhere. There was supposed to be some wet weather coming in and driving in those conditions would have given us some valuable data. In the end, we had a largely dry day, but we still learned a lot. It’s been lovely to have François in the car with us on this rally. He’s fantastic to work with, it’s been a real adventure and I honestly hope and believe we’ll see him back in a Tuthill car soon.”
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