They went back on track and set a new record to keep the rivals on their toes
Renault engineers are not settling on being no.3 or no.2 when it comes to performance hot hatch motoring as they have a strong year on year Formula 1 team to show their performance heritage. The racing heritage might not be very strong with Malaysia car buyers, but in Europe, the Renault Megane RS is a respected hot hatch against the obvious German rivals and also now the Japanese and Korean hot hatches. Here below is how they performed in on of the most demanding race circuits in Europe.
Press Release: The MÉGANE R.S. TROPHY-R, in the front-wheel-drive production-car category, sets a new record of 2’48’’338 (more than 5s better than the previous record) on the mythical Spa-Francorchamps circuit as part of R.S. Days, after its against-the-clock record on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife track.
Notably, this record was broadcast live on the social networks of Renault Sport, in the opening of the 5th round of Formula Renault Eurocup.
In the tradition of Renault Sport, this new generation of MÉGANE R.S. TROPHY-R owes its performance to its pure power, since its 300 hp engine is that of the Mégane R.S. Trophy, launched in early 2019.
The MÉGANE R.S. TROPHY-R was developed as a racing car in a very short time, by a small dedicated team that focused on three aspects: maximum weight reduction (up to 130 kg compared to the Mégane R.S. Trophy excluding options), reworked aerodynamics and a more radical development of its drive axles.
In line with the record set at the Nürburgring, Renault Sport’s passion for the sport has led to new challenges, such as the one at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which was the highlight of the prestigious Total 24 Hours of Spa race.
The New MÉGANE R.S. TROPHY-R set a new absolute official record and a reference time for a production city-car on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The record on the Belgian circuit was broken during R.S. Days, in front of the fans, at 11:55 on 24 July, 2019.
The story of the Mégane R.S. and its records has been going on for more than 10 years, notably on the Nürburgring circuit. It started in 2008 with the very first record in the front-wheel-drive production car category: The Mégane R.S. R26.R completed the Nordschleife lap in 8’17’.
A time that was shattered 3 years later, in 2011, by the second generation Mégane R.S. Trophy version, in the hands of the car’s driver-builder, Laurent Hurgon (8’07”97). In 2014, he passed under the 8-minute mark (7’54”36) for the first time with the Trophy-R version of the Mégane III R.S.
He was also the one who drove the New MÉGANE R.S. TROPHY-R to set a new against-the-clock reference time of 07’40”100 on the 20,600 km Nordschleife circuit (or 07’45”389 on the official full lap of 20,832 km), in a chase for records in which gaining every second has become that much harder. Now, Laurent Hurgon has set a new record this time on the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.
The MÉGANE R.S. TROPHY-R will be marketed before the end of 2019, in the form of a limited edition of 500 hundred examples. Price: starting at €55,000 (price in France, varies depending on country).
