Campana takes spectacular 2WD triumph in Monte-Carlo

Corsican rally star Pierre Campana made a stunning comeback on the final day of this year’s centenary Rallye Monte-Carlo to win the IRC 2WD cup by more than one minute over his nearest rival.

Heading into the final day, Pierre was in third place in the 2WD class with a two minute deficit over the leader but a string of impressive stages during the final day and in Monte-Carlo’s legendary night stages saw Pierre stun onlookers to emerge victorious.

The victory comes following Pierre’s second place result in the class in his maiden Monte-Carlo rally in 2010 and sees him take the maximum 25 points in the first round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge 2WD Cup.

The 2011 Monte-Carlo rally had started well for Pierre, although the first day was not without its problems after he sustained suspension damage when passing a car that was unfairly holding him up. The fourth stage of the day was cut short by organisers as a result of an accident but with times taken from the results of the third stage, Pierre found himself with early control of the 2WD and R3 class.

A puncture in SS5 on Thursday morning dropped him down the field. His immediate attempts at a comeback on Thursday afternoon were thwarted by the sudden onset of snow that resulted in unpredictable seventh and eighth stages, leaving the 25-year-old two minutes adrift of his target.

A mature and professional approach saw Pierre put in a series of stunning displays on the third and final day of the event – particularly in the two loops of stages over the legendary Col de Turini at night - to regain the class lead by the penultimate stage. He then went on to extend that lead by over a minute, stamping his authority over the class in this year’s Monte-Carlo rally.

Pierre won the 2WD class in three out of the five final stages in his Ellip6-backed Munaretto-run Renault Clio R3, navigated by Sabrina de Castelli, including the 30km stage from Montauban sur l’Ouvèze to Eygalayes and both of the Lantosque – Lucéram stages. Such was Pierre’s dominance on this run that he set the 12th best time in the general classification in SS11. He finished the rally in 14th place overall having set some truly sensational times on Michelin medium tyres during those final stages.

French simulation company Ellip6 was first involved in Monte-Carlo alongside Pierre last year when they celebrated a second place in 2WD together, so it is also fantastic for them to share a class victory with Pierre just twelve months on.

Pierre commented: “I am extremely happy with this result and with our performances throughout the three days. We had a good first day generally but then we experienced a lot of bad luck on Thursday which hit us quite hard. The puncture in the fifth stage lost us four minutes and left us with a lot of work to do. We then had to manage without studded tyres in the heavy snow conditions on Thursday afternoon which was not easy. We started the final day with the objective of catching the 2WD leaders. It was a long day, with an early service, a long 30km first stage and finishing with the legendary night stages, so I had to remain very focussed, taking each stage as it came. The night stages are part of rally folklore, so it was particularly pleasing to be so competitive and to set such good times. The car was exceptional so I’d like to say thanks to Munaretto for their hard work and Michelin gave us very competitive tyres. We also benefitted from the support of Ellip6 and I would like to extend my thanks to them for all they have done to support my career up to this point. This result is the best possible way to start 2011 and I hope it will lead to even better things for the rest of the year.”