Jean-Michel Raoux has revealed that he thought his hopes of winning the IRC 2WD Cup crown had ended when he crashed out of the penultimate round in Scotland.
Raoux, who claimed the two-wheel-drive crown by a solitary point with victory in his section on the Cyprus Rally yesterday, feared he wouldn’t be able to overhaul his rival Stefano Albertini following his rare mistake on the Perth-based event last month.
“In Scotland the dream dropped off and we think it’s not possible to win against Albertini,” said Raoux. “In Sanremo he knew very well the road too and it was very difficult for me for the first time. When we came here in Cyprus we wanted absolutely to win. On the Super Special Stage in the town we took first place and we keep it for the whole rally. It was very nice for us, incredible.”
Raoux said a new approach in Cyprus had paid dividends behind the wheel of the 100% Sport Renault Clio R3 he was sharing with co-driver Laurent Magat.
“In Scotland I was thinking too much of the title and getting ahead of Albertini,” said Raoux. “In Cyprus I just thought to every kilometre of every stage, never about the title. It was a very brave performance because it was not easy because two-wheel-drive car is very particular on this type of gravel in Cyprus. It was very, very hard for the car. With a little car the stones and everything is very difficult to find a way.”