Successful baptism by fire for Clio Rally4 in Monte-Carlo Rally 25.01.2021: After an intense development phase, Clio Rally4 made its first appearance in race conditions on the 89th Monte-Carlo Rally. Entrusted to Florian Bernardi and Victor Bellotto, Renault Clio Rally4 was one of the major attractions of the Monte-Carlo Ral

After an intense development phase, Clio Rally4 made its first appearance in race conditions on the 89th Monte-Carlo Rally.



Entrusted to Florian Bernardi and Victor Bellotto, Renault Clio Rally4 was one of the major attractions of the Monte-Carlo Rally, which celebrated its 110th anniversary.
 


After several months and more than 5,000 kilometres of testing, the new product designed for customer racing competition from the teams at Viry-Châtillon and Dieppe made its first public appearance in anger.
 


With its FIA homologation process expected to be completed by April, Clio Rally4 was included into the safety crew team as a zero car to cover the Alpine stages ten minutes before the FIA World Rally Championship competitors.
 


In epic conditions combining snow, rain, ice, mud and fog, the 2019 Clio R3T Trophy France winner and 2020 French 2WD Gravel Rally runner-up demonstrated the impressive potential of Clio Rally4 on a tricky and selective rally-route that featured the full range of the event’s difficulties.
 


In addition to its efficiency, Clio Rally4 received a warm welcome in the service park, where several teams took a close look at this new car born to become the best two-wheel drive vehicle in its category.
 

In parallel, Clio Rally5 continued its perfect record in the RC5 class by winning for the fourth time in as many starts in the FIA World Rally Championship.


 
Launched one year ago at the 2020 Monte-Carlo Rally, Clio Rally5 won in the hands of the Belgian crew of Timothy van Parijs and Kurt Heyndrickx. They were followed by their countrymen Benoît Verlinde and Jochen Claerhout while Gilles Michellier - Christophe Richard and Ghjuvanni Rossi - Baptiste Volpei allowed Clio Rally5 to sweep the top four places on the most demanding rally on the international calendar.
 

 
Florian Bernardi : "Firstly, I would like to thank Renault Sport Racing and the Automobile Club of Monaco for their confidence in the launch of Clio Rally4. I discovered this new car for the first time last Monday during a day of testing and I immediately felt at ease behind the wheel. This feeling was confirmed throughout the four days of the Monte-Carlo Rally despite the extremely complicated and tricky conditions.



You can really feel all the benefits of the work done on the performance-related elements, whether it be the chassis, brakes or engine. I also believe that Clio Rally4 will perform well on all types of surfaces and adaptability will be one of its strengths. Clio Rally4 has it all to become the future reference in its category !"
 





Clio Rally4 specifications
 
Chassis
 
•    • Base : Clio RS Line
•    • Structure : Welded steel monocoque
•    • Front axle : Pseudo McPherson
•    • Rear axle : H axle
•    • Suspension : Bos Suspension three-way adjustable shock absorber and hydraulic stop
 
Engine
 
•    • Type : 1.3 TCe Renault – 4 cylindres – 16 valves
•    • Turbocharger : Borg Warner –30mm restrictor
•    • Cooling : production derivative
•    • Fuel delivery : direct injection
•    • Power : 215hp
•    • Torque : 350Nm
•    • Maximum RPM : 6,500
•    • Electronics : Life Racing
•    • Fuel : SP98 standard

 
Dimensions
 
•    • Length – Width – Height (mm) : 4,050 – 1,988 - 1,400
•    • Track Front-Rear (mm) : 1,500 - 1,490
•    • Wheelbase (mm) : 2,579
•    • Unloaded weight : 1,080kg
 
Transmission
 
•    • Sadev sequential 5-speed + reverse gearbox
•    • Floor mounted selector with reverse electronic release
•    • ZF type limited slip differntial
•    • Sachs clutch
 
Wheels
 
•    • Wheels : 6x15 (Gravel), 7x17 (Tarmac)
•    • Tyres : Michelin
 
Brakes
 
•    • Front brake (Tarmac) : PFC calliper and disc– 330mm x 28mm
•    • Front brake (Gravel) : PFC calliper and disc – 294mm x 28mm
•    • Rear brake : PFC – PFC calliper, disc – 260mm x 8mm
•    • Hydraulic handbrake
 
Other
 
•    • FIA homologated FT3 fuel cell
 


 


Renault Sport Racing- also photos