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NEWS
Renault to pull plug on ARC?
French brand unlikely to field Clio R3 factory team in 2014 Australian Rally ChampionshipRenault Australia will make a decision on the future of its Australian Rally Championship (ARC) participation before the end of the year, but all signs suggest the company will promote its brand via other avenues.
Expected to join Honda as the other factory-backed team ending its ARC involvement , Renault Australia managing director, Justin Hocevar, said the decision to return to local rally racing in 2014 was "up in the air".
"We haven't made any announcements on that just yet. We're reviewing it. We hope to make an announcement probably within a fortnight," he said.
Renault finished second in the ARC manufacturers' championship and second and third in the drivers' championship in 2013, behind the all-conquering Honda Jazz of Eli Evans.
Renault's return to the ARC at the beginning of 2013 was the first time in 40 years the manufacturer had gone rallying with a factory-backed team, but a lack of wins hasn't helped the cause for re-signing in 2014.
The need for a brand-new Clio rally car to replace the current 184kW Clio R3 is an issue for Renault too.
"Unfortunately the rally-spec version [of the new Clio] is not ready yet," said Hocevar.
"I think that we'd rather spend our marketing dollar on promoting the new vehicle [in traditional channels].
"At the moment we're having a look at the options, how would it be funded, who would be involved. Obviously Scott Pedder and the guys are keen to continue but we've got to weigh up that return on investment," he said.
Although Renault seems certain to pull the pin on its short-lived return to the ARC, its performance arm Renault Sport will still be active in several motorsport activities, flying the French car maker's flag in other areas.
"We're still big fans of motorsport and it would probably just mean we'd do other things. We've had activities at the F1, other track activities, our involvement in Targa Tasmania and the likes," said the Renault Australia chief.
The all-new Renault Clio RS 200 EDC launches in Australia this week and the importer will be looking for ways to promote the all-new 1.6-litre turbo-petrol pocket rocket, which is paired with an automatic transmission for the first time.
Clio RS 200 could compete in Targa Tasmania in the future, if the stars align.
"I wouldn’t say no [to Clio entries in Targa Tasmania]; mind you we've made an investment already in two Targa-prepped Megane RS 265s, so we'd probably want to continue to get some value out of those before we'd invest in new tarmac rally cars.
"In the foreseeable future it's quite possible," said Hocevar.
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Written byFeann Torr
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