Renault’s Clio Rally3 almost ready to break cover

Renault Customer Racing director Benoit Nogier admitted the time was coming to put the French firm’s latest rally car in motion.

“It’s coming in a few weeks for the first test,” said Nogier. “Like you can imagine, we are still discovering a little bit this new category, but we are working hard – it’s good to have Renault’s first four-wheel drive car.”

Nogier added the changes to the WRC’s class structure, with WRC3 now based around Rally3 cars, made the series even more attractive for Renault.

He said: “It’s nice to know Rally3 is a part of the future for the World Rally Championship and it will be interesting to see the comparison between this car and the Ford [Fiesta Rally3].

“I hope there will be more brands coming to this category – I think it’s interesting to have more competition and this is going to be a nice class.”

M-Sport Poland’s Fiesta Rally3 is currently the only homologated car for WRC3 and is also used by competitors in the FIA Junior WRC.

The Renault will begin testing on gravel before switching to asphalt later this season. The car is expected to make its competitive debut early in 2023.

Renault has a long history in the WRC, scoring the first ever manufacturers’ title win with Alpine in 1973. More recently, in the 1980s, the Renault 5 Turbo, 5 Maxi Turbo and 5GT Turbo all won rounds of the series.