Campana enjoys first taste of WRC with Drive-Pro

Corsican rally sensation Pierre Campana has enjoyed his first taste of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC car over two days of testing and promotional activities with the Drive-Pro team at the Pôle Mécanique facility in Alès-Cévennes in the south of France on Thursday and Friday.

26-year-old Campana was announced earlier this week as representative of the FFSA’s Rally Team France 2011, following in the footsteps of greats such as Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier, while also being confirmed to take part in the Rally Deutschland and Rallye de France-Alsace with Drive-Pro.

Thursday saw Pierre embark on one full day of pure testing with Drive-Pro, with the support of Prodrive who are running the works rally programme for MINI, which was his first ever experience in a WRC car with WRC-spec Michelin tyres. He completed 94km under very warm and sunny skies, beginning his adaptation to the car.

Today, Pierre got more time in the car but rather than outright testing he had the important responsibility of giving taxi rides to customers and guests of the team. He covered an additional 40km, thus adding to his valuable experience behind the wheel.

Pierre will be taking part in Rally Deutschland and Rallye de France-Alsace with his long-time co-driver Sabrina de Castelli. Prior to the German WRC round, Pierre will be making an important trip to the UK, where he will be participating in the Richard Burns Memorial Rally. The event will give Pierre the opportunity to acquire more time in the car and to have the best possible build up to Germany.

Pierre, how do best sum-up the exciting activities of this week?

“It has been a very busy week but an extremely positive one from my point of view. I have had a tremendous response to the announcement on Wednesday and it was good to get my first taste of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC yesterday. It was my first time driving a full WRC spec car with Michelin tyres so it will leave a lasting memory. We have a lot of ground to cover before we get to Germany for the WRC event, so it is important for me to get as much time in the car as possible.”

What were your first reactions to the car?

“I was very pleasantly surprised by how quickly I adapted to the car and to find a good feeling from the car and tyres. The car was very easy to drive and comfortable, which made my time behind the wheel very enjoyable. I was impressed with the installation inside the car and we will do the absolute best job we can in the forthcoming events. Today, I also had the opportunity to give some guests a taxi ride in the car which was good fun and I hope they left with the same positive impression that I did. I’d like to thank once again the Drive-Pro team for their support this week, to the Prodrive team who I found a pleasure to work with, and of course to the FFSA for their faith in my abilities. I look forward to next week’s Richard Burns Memorial Rally where we can pay tribute to an amazing rally champion and support very worthwhile causes, while also adding to my own experience in the car and with the team.”