RSS Share 03/07/2006
Trio To Celebrate Renault's Track And Rally Heritage

Renault Sport’s incredible Mégane Trophy supercar and the 1997 British Touring Car Championship winning Laguna will drive the famous hillclimb circuit for the very first time at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Meanwhile, Renault’s rallying heritage will be celebrated as Adam Keeler drives his Group B Renault 5 Maxi Turbo on the lengthened Forest Rally Stage in the grounds of Goodwood House.

The 330hp Mégane racer made its debut at the Festival last year on static display but is set to thrill tens of thousands of spectators at this year’s event as it tackles the famous Goodwood Hill in the capable hands of Renault Formula One legend René Arnoux, the seven-time Grand Prix winner, who famously locked wheels with Gilles Villeneuve on his way to a podium place in the 1979 French GP at Dijon.

The supercar boasts aggressive styling with astonishing performance. Lowered by 10cm compared to the road car, Mégane Trophy also has drastically flared wheel arches and a rear air diffuser inspired by Formula One technology to improve handling at high speed. The 3.5-litre, 24-valve mid-mounted engine is capable of producing 330hp at 6,250rpm, pushing the car to a top speed in excess of 155mph.

Alain Menu was the man who drove the 1997 Laguna to the British Touring Car Championship drivers’ title and the car also clinched the constructors’ title in the same year. After three years of finishing as runners-up, Renault and partner Williams produced an all-conquering car that won 12 races with 13 pole positions.

Regular visitors to the Festival will have seen the Laguna on static display in 2002 but this year fans are in for a treat as its current owner, Myles Hicks, takes to the hillclimb course. With more than 300bhp and a top speed of 158mph, Renault Laguna BTCC is sure to catch the eye. Its run is very likely to be its last on UK soil as Kiwi Myles has bought the car to take back to his native New Zealand after the Festival.

Keeler’s Maxi Turbo will make its second appearance at Goodwood after Renault legend Jean Ragnotti put the car through its paces in 2005. Keeler, an hotelier from Harrogate, discovered the car eight years ago and undertook a complete restoration. The car is usually prepared to run on asphalt but has been specially modified for the gravel surface on the newly lengthened Forest Rally Stage.

It is 20 years since the Group B class of rally cars, which includes the Maxi Turbo, stopped competing and Keeler views the 2006 Festival as the ideal place to celebrate this much-loved category. With more straights, more turns and more jumps on the Forest Rally Stage, spectators will be in for a feast of rallying action.