Preses relīze
Introduced this season, the French 2WD Rally Championship was in the sights of Manu Guigou for his return to the national scene.
After six months of development work with the Alpine A110 Rally and the Signatech team under the direction of Lionel Chevalier, Manu scored maximum points on the Touquet Rally before making at Mont-Blanc his competition debut with the model for which he is the ambassador.
Honouring the brand's name and rich history, Manu Guigou put in a dream start by setting the best absolute time on the opening special stage versus 33 four-wheel drive cars, including R5s and WRC entries. With three scratch times, the Team Joffroy driver won the two-wheel drive class and finished third overall.
Three weeks later, Manu Guigou was back for more on the Cœur de France Rally. With a serious and diligent drive around the city of Vendôme despite the tricky conditions, he won by more than a minute from his closest rival, who was also behind the wheel of an Alpine A110 Rally, with more times among the leaders in the general classification.
Thanks to these wins, Manu Guigou and co-driver Alexandre Coria have officially won the two-wheel drive honours in the French Rally Championship. Alpine wins its first official title since its return to rally competition at the start of the year and its first title in France since the triumph of Guy Fréquelin in 1977.
"I am extremely proud and honoured to be part of Alpine's rich sporting history," said Manu Guigou after his title announced on Tuesday evening. "Signatech has built a high-performance car that respects the brand's DNA. To have my name associated with the Alpine brand is a childhood dream that has now come true. The Alpine brand has an impressive track record and is still among the leaders. This is why Alpine represents an undeniable value for sports car enthusiasts.”
"We really prepared ourselves with Team Joffroy, with whom I had total confidence, to be up to the task for Alpine's comeback on the stages. We went undefeated with the Alpine A110 Rally in the French Championship and this official title is a reward that Alpine, Signatech, but also ETS and Pirelli fully deserve for their decisive contribution to our performances. I would also like to acknowledge Technifap and the Centre Alpine Villefranche for their unfailing support, as well as all of our partners. I also take my hat off to Alexandre Coria, whose skills and motivation have been extremely important in the success of this adventure. I am delighted to share these victories and this title with him!”
"With the confidence of Philippe Sinault and his expertise, this title is all the more motivating as we are only at the beginning of Alpine's return to rallying, and to the world of competition on a larger scale," concludes Manu Guigou. "If I had to pick out one moment this year, it would be our stage win on our Alpine A110 Rally competitive debut. It is without question the highlight of our season that has rewarded these two years of work while reassuring the teams and partners who put their faith in us! It is now time to ride this big momentum as Alpine is preparing to tackle new fronts and to get down to business on my 2021 programme, which I hope to announce very soon! "
2020 2WD French Rally Championship
1. Manu Guigou, 63 points
2. Allison Viano, 47 points
3. Leo Rossel, 38 points
4. Cédric Robert, 34 points
5. Guillaume Canivenq, 30 points
6. Pauline Dalmasso, 28 points
7. Rémi Jouines, 27 points
8. François Delecour & Romain Fostier, 26 points
2020 French Rally Championship
1. Yoann Bonato, 75 points
2. Quentin Gilbert, 57 points
3. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi, 38 points
4. Quentin Giordano, 37 points
5. Manu Guigou, 30 points
6. Thibault Habouzit, 28 points
7. Éric Mauffrey & Pierre Roché, 25 points
9. William Wagner, 22 points
10. Patrick Rouillard, 21 points …
