Romain Dumas takes win at 23rd Tour de Corse Historique

Romain Dumas, assisted by former pro-co-driver Denis Giraudet, came out on top in his Porsche 911 in this year’s Tour de Corse Historique. It was Dumas’ second victory on the French island.

This year’s Tour de Corse was overshadowed by a dramatic incident that occurred on Tuesday. A participant left the road on the third stage of the rally, near Muratello, and hit three spectators. A 66-year-old man did not survive the accident. As a sign of respect for the victim, Wednesday’s special stages were cancelled.

Broken pedal

Porsche’s Romain Dumas – a double Le Mans winner and Pikes Peak victor – once again showed his versatility. Dumas was behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 RS 3.0 that was built by his own RD Limited Team. Dumas’ team has produced highly competitive Porsche 911s for historic rallies for considerable time now. Despite a broken clutch pedal, Dumas was able to hang on to the lead.

Pressure from local hero Olivier Capanaccia (BMW M3 E30) brought the Corsican within striking distance – just 16 seconds from Dumas – but it was clear the Porsche driver was controlling. On the final stage, Dumas drew level on time with Capanaccia, keeping his advantage and thus securing victory.

Regularity

Last year’s winner, Alain Oreille, had to settle for third in his Porsche 911. In the regularity classes (VHRS), Arnaud Labesouille won the high-speed class in his BMW 323. Stéphane Blaise (Volkswagen Golf) was best in the medium-speed category.

Full results here.