After the victory in Finland, Patrik Sandell and Emil Axelsson now prepare for the asphalt roads in Germany.
- The condition on the stages is very various. Some of them feel like the stages home in Östersund, but other stages contains both asphalt and concrete, and on some stages there are clay and soil. If it starts raining on them it will be very hard to drive, says Patrik Sandell.
And rain is what’s coming this weekend. That makes the choice of tyre decisive.
But it’s not only the rain that can destroy for the drivers. When they’re haunting seconds the cars brings clay and stones on the road.
- We always write in our pace-notes when the road switches surface. But when many cars have been driving before us much can happen. You’ve got to know where you have your outer wheel pair, which is on the asphalt, so you have the grip when you go in the curve with the inner wheel pair, says Patrik.
Patrik and Emil made a test on asphalt in the Czech Republic last weekend. Four Renault Clio R3 was there, and with them an expert on asphalt from Germany. But Patrik was the fastest, with about one second per kilometre.
- The roads were a little bumpier than the German roads. But the test wasn’t about making a setup on the car; we wanted to drive on asphalt in our Clio for the first time. Renault Sport are very good at setup on asphalt, it’s their normal surface. And our fast times proved that, says Sandell.
Before Rally Germany begins, Patrik and Emil are at the third place in JRC with 19 points. PG Andersson is leading with 28 points, and Urmo Aava from Estonia has 24 points.
- The condition on the stages is very various. Some of them feel like the stages home in Östersund, but other stages contains both asphalt and concrete, and on some stages there are clay and soil. If it starts raining on them it will be very hard to drive, says Patrik Sandell.
And rain is what’s coming this weekend. That makes the choice of tyre decisive.
But it’s not only the rain that can destroy for the drivers. When they’re haunting seconds the cars brings clay and stones on the road.
- We always write in our pace-notes when the road switches surface. But when many cars have been driving before us much can happen. You’ve got to know where you have your outer wheel pair, which is on the asphalt, so you have the grip when you go in the curve with the inner wheel pair, says Patrik.
Patrik and Emil made a test on asphalt in the Czech Republic last weekend. Four Renault Clio R3 was there, and with them an expert on asphalt from Germany. But Patrik was the fastest, with about one second per kilometre.
- The roads were a little bumpier than the German roads. But the test wasn’t about making a setup on the car; we wanted to drive on asphalt in our Clio for the first time. Renault Sport are very good at setup on asphalt, it’s their normal surface. And our fast times proved that, says Sandell.
Before Rally Germany begins, Patrik and Emil are at the third place in JRC with 19 points. PG Andersson is leading with 28 points, and Urmo Aava from Estonia has 24 points.