CLIO ANDROS test

CLIO TROPHEE ANDROS DA RACING
Recently, Motors TV was invited by DA Racing to Alpe d’Huez to test drive their Clio ice racing entry just prior to the second half of the Andros Trophy season.

Before heading to Isola 2000, the team put in some last minute set up changes to the car with Romain Grosjean, Franck Lagorce and Jean-Baptiste Dubourg each taking turns at the wheel.

«When you remove the front and rear bodywork you can that is a silhouette with its tubular chassis and the engine that is centrally located. The sequential gearbox is also at the rear.  

It has both four wheel drive and steering...the rear wheels also turn.

The interior is somewhat barren like most racing cars. There is the gear lever, a few gauges on the dashboard, the gas pump, the ventilator motor and the peddles…very basic.

The minimum weight is 950 kilograms, not counting the driver. Generally, all the cars in the Andros Trophy need to be ballasted to meet this limit because they’re built with very lightweight composites. This makes for an interesting weight balance; you can do a lot in this area. What is the most penalising for a driver is the ballast added in the case of a podium finish, which is a real handicap.”

Thanks, Jean-Baptiste, what he didn’t mention; which is very impressive is that these engines produce around 350 brake horsepower.

On the ice, experience is key, because the track conditions change from one moment to the next. Not only do changes have to be made to the set-up but the way the car is driven has to be modified. The tyres also have to be managed and they have to be broken in to attain maximum performance.

At times this can be a head scratcher, even for specialists like Franck and Jean-Baptiste, so you can imagine what it is like for a newcomer. And yet, during the season where his F-1 future is in doubt, Romain Grosjean has turned his attention to the Andros Trophy. With nearly no experience, he has turned more than a few heads with his ability to be a quick learner.

«Alpe d’Huez was my first go in the Andros Trophy and it was also the first time I drove a closed car, while also being the first time I competed on ice but the team gave me a lot of advice. Jean Baptiste and Franck but also Alain Prost and Olivier Panis helped me out. This is one big family with a terrific atmosphere. I had such a great time, which was the idea but now I have to get down to business. And I can’t wait to do some more. » 

We also would have liked to have done more, the six odd laps at night and in the fog only gave s a small idea of what it is like to drive this machine. The grip level is hard to define; the four wheel steering is puzzling. At first, nothing happens and then all of a sudden the car jumps out and from inside the car the track appears a lot narrower than it did when we were mere spectators.

But one thing is sure, this Clio works very well…two weeks later, Romain Grosjean took his first win in the Andros in this very car.