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Tuthill Porsche Rallye de France Alsace preview

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Tuthill Porsche

News release

26.09.14

Tuthill Porsche Rallye de France Alsace preview

Francois Delecour (FRA)/Dominique Savignoni (FRA) Porsche 911 RGT #92

Multiple world rally winner Francois Delecour will start his home round of the World Rally Championship – next week’s Rallye de France Alsace – at the wheel of Tuthill Porsche’s 911 RGT.

The 911 GT3-based rally car stole the hearts of the rally-watching public on last month’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland and focused the minds of many looking for a cost-effective alternative to a World Rally Car.

Driven in Trier by Tuthill Porsche team principal Richard Tuthill, the car finished it’s WRC debut first in the RGT class and 27th overall. Next week, Richard will hand the wheel over to and all-time French favourite in Francois Delecour.

Delecour, who won four rounds of the World Rally Championship earlier in his career, will test the Tuthill Porsche 911 RGT for the first time on Monday… having arrived overnight from, hopefully, sealing his third consecutive Romanian Rally Championship title on the Raliul Perla Harghitei.

Next week’s Strasbourg-based WRC qualifier will be his second world championship outing of the season. He competed on Rallye Monte-Carlo, but was forced to retire his Ford Fiesta RS WRC from the opening round of the year.

Since ADAC Rallye Deutschland, Tuthill Porsche has worked closely with the FIA (world motorsport’s governing body) on further evaluation and evolution of the RGT regulations. The only change in specification to the 911 RGT is in the air-intake restrictor, which has been increased from 36 to 39mm and means the rear-wheel drive car now has around 350bhp (a rise of around 25bhp).

Francois Delecour said: “I am so excited. This is such, such great news and I have so much enthusiasm to drive this car. This is my dream, my dream to drive a Porsche in the World Rally Championship. It is more than fantastic.

“I know the Tuthill Porsche team, I drove with them before and I know they prepare the perfect car. Last time, they painted my car blue for France – I love this team! And I love the 911 RGT. The noise, everything about this car is a rally car. I can’t wait to test. First, I have to try to win the [Romanian Rally] Championship for the third time, but I only need one point. Hopefully, I arrive in France to drive the Porsche for the first time with this title.”

Richard Tuthill said: “Francois is the perfect driver for this car – he’s so full of character and enthusiasm. And, let’s not forget, he’s one of the finest drivers ever to come out of France.

“There’s no doubt we’re going to see an improvement on the pace from Germany… the driver’s a hell of a lot better and I think the car will suit the roads a bit more as well. I’d like to see us looking for the minimum of a top 20 and hopefully top 15. But, so much of that does depend on the weather, we have to hope it stays dry.”

Event data:

Shakedown: Thursday October 2, 0800, Parc des Sports, Hautepierre (3.80km)

Ceremonial start: Thursday October 2, 1730, Wacken, Strasbourg City

Friday October 3 stages: 7 – 114.75km competitive/321.37km liaison

Saturday October 4 stages: 7 – 125.50km competitive/393.04km liaison

Sunday October 5 stages: 4 – 63.38km competitive/215.50km liaison

Total stages: 18 – 303km competitive/929.91 liaison/1233.54km total

Media accreditation: Rue Emile Mathis, 67201 Eckbolsheim

Media office: Zenith Strasbourg, 1 allee du Zenith, Eckbolsheim, 67034 Strasbourg

Remote media office Colmar (Saturday): Parc des expositions, Avenue Foire aux Vins 68000 Colmar

Remote media office Saverne (Sunday): Chateau des Rohan, Place du General de Gaulle, 67700 Saverne

National press officer: Marion Watelle mwatelle@ffsa.org +33 672 76 0176

Tuthill Porsche media office: Gio Peart/Tim Scarff +44 1295 750514 media@tuthillporsche.com

Tags:

World Rally Championship World Championship Tuthill Porsche News Tuthill Porsche media Tuthill Porsche Rallye de France Alsace Francois Delecour Rallye Monte-Carlo Dominique Savignoni World Rally Car Driven Multiple world rally ADAC Rallye Deutschland

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Quotes

I am so excited. This is such, such great news and I have so much enthusiasm to drive this car. This is my dream, my dream to drive a Porsche in the World Rally Championship. It is more than fantastic. I know the Tuthill Porsche team, I drove with them before and I know they prepare the perfect car. Last time, they painted my car blue for France – I love this team! And I love the 911 RGT. The noise, everything about this car is a rally car. I can’t wait to test. First, I have to try to win the [Romanian Rally] Championship for the third time, but I only need one point. Hopefully, I arrive in France to drive the Porsche for the first time with this title.
Francois Delecour
Francois is the perfect driver for this car – he’s so full of character and enthusiasm. And, let’s not forget, he’s one of the finest drivers ever to come out of France. There’s no doubt we’re going to see an improvement on the pace from Germany… the driver’s a hell of a lot better and I think the car will suit the roads a bit more as well. I’d like to see us looking for the minimum of a top 20 and hopefully top 15. But, so much of that does depend on the weather, we have to hope it stays dry.
Richard Tuthill