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Rally legend Francois Delecour triumphed last weekend on his guest appearance in the opening round of the inaugural Tuthill Porsche Challenge, the Bulldog Historic Rally in Wales.
Co-driven by fellow Frenchman James Bocognano, Delecour led John Lloyd and Andrew Barnes home after seven demanding gravel stages, which had been made more slippery due to overnight rain.
Previous winner of four WRC rallies, Francois had never driven an historic-specification Porsche in competition before. “The conditions were difficult, we had to use the organiser’s pace notes and my co-driver has very little experience, but I really enjoyed the experience of coming back to Wales and driving in the Tuthill Porsche Challenge,” said the 48-year-old Frenchman.
“It was hard to find the confidence with the pace notes, especially over the crests when I didn’t really know what was to come. But the Porsche didn’t feel like an old car. It was superb, you could really push it and slide it and it was great fun to drive.”
Richard Tuthill answered Francois’ compliments with reciprocal praise. “It was encouraging to see just how close Francois was to the times of the overall leaders, especially as he wasn’t happy not being able to use his own pace notes due to the regulations,’ said Richard, delighted with an exciting opening round to the Tuthill Porsche Rally Challenge. “Overall it has been a very satisfying start to the series and preparations are already underway for the next round, the Pirelli Historic Rally later this month.”
