Carlos Sainz Jr will drive the powerstage of the World Rally Championship’s 2018 season opener in Monte Carlo in a Renault Megane R.S.
Sainz, who finished ninth in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship last year, will make his rallying debut following his father’s second Dakar victory this past weekend.
The Spaniard will drive the organisers’ Renault Megane R.S. course car, which checks the stage before the WRC frontrunners come through.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing Rallye Monte-Carlo for the first time,” Sainz said.
“I’ve heard so much about it from my dad – how difficult the stages are, how the conditions can change in an instant from snow to rain or bright sunshine and of course how you need nerves of steel for some of those mountain passes and hairpins.
“It’s going to be a real thrill to take part in such a legendary event behind the wheel of a Renault Mégane R.S, which will be fitted with snow and studded tyres so I can get a more complete sensation of rallying around these stages.”
Sainz’s father won the rally three times in 1991, ’95 and in ’98.
