Alpine A110 Rally claims its first international title on RallyRACC

Alpine A110 Rally claims its first international title on RallyRACC – Rally de España

Less than a year after winning its first national title since returning to rallying, Alpine had already sealed its first international title for the first time since the inaugural season of the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973.

The only question remaining was which driver the A-arrow brand would take the crown as Pierre Ragues and Manu Guigou each won twice this year. However, the two men approached the Spanish round with different approaches. On the one hand, Pierre Ragues could afford to control the action until the finish to take the title whereas his countryman had to finish on the podium and see where his rival would end up.

Manu Guigou, who won the last time out on Rally Nova Gorica, announced his intentions on the opening loop on Friday, with the best time on the first three stages. He then put in a repeat performance in the afternoon to take a 2:52.6s lead over his rival, who received a one-minute penalty for checking in too early.

On the tarmac roads of the Costa Daurada, the reigning 2WD French Champion kept pushing with a grand slam on the seven timed sectors of Saturday, but Pierre Ragues found an ideal compromise between control and attack with the Alpine A110 to maintain his second place ahead of Philippe Baffoun.

On Sunday, Manu Guigou continued his domination in the final leg, battling with several Rally2s while Pierre Ragues was in control of his fate. While his rival eventually won the FIA RGT Cup and the two-wheel-drive category with a 6:33.3s margin of victory, Pierre Ragues secured the title by finishing second ahead of Philippe Baffoun in an all Alpine podium.

With two wins, two runner-up finishes and a fourth-place result, Pierre Ragues becomes the first driver to win an international rally title with Alpine. After winning the European Le Mans Series and securing a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the brand’s endurance programme, the Normandy-born driver has also shown a versatility that would make Jean Rédélé proud.

His title is the icing on the cake in what has been an incredible 2021 season for the Alpine-Signatech designed A110 Rally, which has left its mark on the FIA RGT Cup with 76 – another nod to Dieppe! – stage wins over the season. Alpine dominated the competition with a one-two finish in Rome, one-two-three results at Nova Gorica and Catalonia, a sweep of the top five on the Monte Carlo Rally and a lockout of the top six at Ypres!

2021 RallyRACC – Rally de España – FIA RGT