Romain Dumas : From endurance to rally and back again
A week after winning the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Romain Dumas distinguished himself in Corsica, the scene of the “Ronde de la Giraglia”, driving a Porsche 997 GT3 RS of Team Romain Dumas. An avid rally driver, Dumas finished in second place overall. Next weekend he will attempt to capture a fifth victory in another discipline: the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring, also in a Porsche 997, but this time with the Manthey Racing team.
Porsche factory driver loaned to Audi, the French driver has built an impressive track record in endurance racing with a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, four wins in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, two prestigious 24 Hours of Spa and a victory in 12 Hours Sebring against all odds with a Porsche RS Spyder LMP2. Only 24 Hours of Daytona has eluded him ... so far!
Introduced to rallying by his father Maurice, he started his own team to pursue his passion. He bought a car from his employer that he turned into a racing machine, reducing its weight to make it more competitive. Now assisted by Matthieu Baumel, co-driver to Guerlain Chicherit on the Dakar, Romain Dumas relentless progress, matching the pace of drivers of the IRC. The “Ronde de la Giraglia” was held in parallel with the Tour de Corse IRC, allowing a direct comparison.
Dumas' Porsche was only 13 seconds behind the winner. . “We didn’t win, but we really enjoyed ourselves” said the French driver, smiling. “Contrary to the Rallye Lyon-Charbonnières, the roads were not favorable for us : it was twisty, too much so to fight with a WRC, but I’m taking away only good things from this rally. Despite this tight route, we were always in the fight. We’ve rarely driven in such high temperatures, and the reliability was perfect. I progressed again, just as the team progressed in terms of setup.This experience will be beneficial : it gives us new directions to go in.”
A Change of scene this week with the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the Ring Meister (nickname given to drivers who win the 24 hours at least three times) will attempt to repeat that success with teammates: Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Lucas Luhr. However, the entry list for the 40th edition is top quality: "The top of the field is just awesome and, as in past seasons, I expect a big fight. Of the quality of cars and crews, the race is now the reference in GT and I want to add again to my list. The challenge is great and the victory will be decided on details. We will need to be perfect at all levels. "
Another challenge awaits Romain Dumas next month, but this time with Audi in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. He joins team-mates Loic Duval and (hopefully) Timo Bernhard, who was injured in testing at Sebring in March.
Dave Davies (quotes from driver press releases)
Photo: FRANCORCHAMPS (LIEGE, BELGIUM), SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS CIRCUIT, 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Saturday, May 5, 2012, RACE. Romain Dumas, who won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with Audi, races the 24 Hours of Nürburgring this weekend, after compting last week in rally.