Campana has his sights set on a podium

Corsican rally driver Pierre Campana is hoping to capitalise on his recent WRC performances to secure a podium finish in the gruelling Giru di Corsica - Tour de Corse that is taking place this week.

Pierre will once again be joining the Munaretto Sport team for an assault on the tough asphalt event with a Michelin-shod Peugeot 207 S2000 car. The collaboration proved a potent force in the 2011 Tour de Corse event as Pierre and co-driver Sabrina de Castelli finished in a fine fourth place overall.

For Pierre, the event also holds personal importance as a rally taking place on his home ground in Corsica, so he will once again be drawing on the support of a passionate home crowd in the fight for glory.

The Tour de Corse underwent something of a facelift last year with a brand new route that took the event back to its origins. This year will mark the 55th running of the event with a total of 14 special stages that will give drivers unique challenges over three separate days and a total of 318 kilometres.

Traditionally known as the ‘Rally of 10,000 Corners’ due to its high frequency of turns, the Tour de Corse joined the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) for the first time in 2011 with an arduous route covering large parts of the picturesque Mediterranean island. Organisers aren’t resting on their laurels either with a revised itinerary for 2012 starting in Ajaccio in the south and finishing in Bastia to the north.

Pierre will be partnered by a group of companies, including Perin and Entreprise Natali, who are combining to enable Pierre to compete in one of the year’s toughest rallies. Pierre is also benefitting from the experience of Peugeot, who will be giving him valuable support during the event. The Corsican conducted a short test with the Peugeot 207 S2000 car last week, accumulating around 250km in the car as the team carried out a thorough systems check ahead of Tour de Corse.

Pierre Campana commented: “Ever since my participation in this year’s Tour de Corse was confirmed a few weeks’ ago, I have been inundated with support and good wishes from people which has certainly given me a feel-good factor heading into this event. I am proud and honoured to be able to compete at Tour de Corse for a second year in a row together with the professional guys from Munaretto Sport and with the support of Peugeot and my personal partners for this event. It will be fun to get behind the wheel of the Peugeot 207 S2000 on Michelin tyres in a rally situation following our two-day test with the car last week. There have been a few changes to the route since last year but I remain confident in our abilities and with the car, so I will be looking to compete with the frontrunners throughout the event, to fight for competitive stage times and to end the rally with a chance of a podium result, which I feel is possible if we can avoid misfortune. I am looking forward to the opening three stages on Thursday that will hopefully allow us to build up a good rhythm.”