Quesnel praises Monte winner Bouffier

Peugeot Sport director Olivier Quesnel has revealed that he was convinced Bryan Bouffier wouldn’t be overtaken on the final night of Rallye Monte-Carlo last week because he is so strong mentally.

Bouffier, the defending French champion, triumphed on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge season-opener in a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 co-driven by Xavier Panseri.

Quesnel, who was one of the first to congratulate Bouffier at the finish in Monaco’s harbour front in the early hours of Saturday morning, said: “I knew Bryan would win because he is very strong mentally. For sure there was a lot of pressure [on him] because he was the leader but I knew he would be okay.”

Bouffier hopes to contest an expanded programme of IRC events in 2011, although his precise programme has yet to be finalised. His victory on the Rallye Monte-Carlo, which featured extensive coverage live on Eurosport, made him the 19th different driver to win a round of the IRC since its formation in 2007.