French ace Pierre Campana will continue his pursuit of the Clio R3 European Trophy when he enters the Geko Ypres Rally in Belgium on Friday and Saturday (June 25/26).
Corsica-born Campana, 25, has never contested the demanding asphalt event before but will take the start buoyed by his impressive performance in the Clio R3 Trofeo Italia section of Rally del Salento last weekend in his Ellip6-backed machine.
As well as finishing 20th overall on the Italian Tarmac rally, Campana was the fifth highest Clio R3 Trofeo Italia competitor out of a total of 28 starters, despite never having tackled the event before.
Campana, who will drive for the respected Munaretto team in Belgium, will also chase IRC 2WD Cup points this weekend with the Ypres Rally forming round six of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The Clio R3 European Trophy supports three rounds of the IRC and organisers have allowed Clio R3 runners to score IRC 2WD Cup drivers’ points on the Monte Carlo, Ypres and Barum rallies.
The Ypres Rally is famed for its long straights and square junctions. That might not sound like a tremendous challenge for the crews but lining the narrow roads are deep drainage ditches and telephone pylons, which means there is no margin for error.
Having successfully negotiated the ice- and snow-coated roads of Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo back in January, finishing second of the Clio R3 runners, Campana is braced for the challenge of Ypres, which can be magnified if it rains or when the stages, which run through farmland, get coated in mud.
“Ypres is another new event for me and also another very prestigious and difficult rally,” said Campana. “I am very grateful for the opportunity my sponsor, Ellip6, has given me to allow me to take part and I will do my very best to put on a good show for them. But I know this is a difficult rally where the slightest mistake can lead to a big problem. It’s also a rally where local knowledge is very important in terms of knowing where you can take cuts through corners and where you have to be sensible. I don’t have this knowledge so beating some of the Belgian drivers like Kris Princen will be a big challenge but one I am really excited about.”
Campana, who will be co-driven in Ypres by Sabrina de Castelli, is currently fourth in Clio R3 European Trophy and joint sixth in the IRC 2WD Cup. The Ypres Rally covers 291.28 kilometres over 19 special stages.
– Credit: Quadra Sports