Winner of the French junior championship last season, Marceau Launay, like Julien Meunier, opted for the RallyX championship this year. An experience that the French driver doesn’t regret at all.
On paper, the equation was far from simple. Switching from a conventional front-wheel drive car to a four-wheel drive car with a naturally aspirated engine developing almost 315 hp, Marceau Launay knew that he was embarking on a real learning campaign on northern tracks that had little in common with what he was used to in the French championship.
Eighth in the overall standings, with five qualifications for a final and his first podium in eight events at Kouvola, Marceau Launay has fully confirmed the objectives he set himself.
‘I wanted to discover a new environment, which was the opposite of what I’d experienced in the French championship. It was also an opportunity to discover new working methods that are specific to the Scandinavian countries, while I wanted to see if I was able to adapt to a different car,’ stresses Marceau.
‘I had to learn and assimilate a lot of new things, but I’m happy because we managed to get several top-three finishes in qualification and a first podium at Kouvola. Above all, the times we set were very decent compared to the favourites. Of course, I wasn’t successful at times, but I’ve taken a lot of positives from this 2024 season. I’ve come away from it with the feeling that I’ve evolved and progressed, and these are things that I wouldn’t have been able to experience if I had stayed in the French championship alone.’
Indeed, on tracks that are constantly evolving from one qualifying session to the next, the drivers’ ability to adapt to the grip conditions plays a major role in their performances.
‘It’s still rallycross, where you have to fight it out on gravel/asphalt tracks, except that the gravel sections are very different. That’s the biggest change from what I knew about rallycross. Apart from the Tierp event, which may resemble a French track in terms of grip, the other stages are the complete opposite of what you would find on a French championship circuit.’
‘The biggest challenge was therefore to discover a new track every weekend and to adapt as quickly as possible to this new context. It was all the more interesting because I was able to overcome this problem thanks to the work of the OMSE team. In reality, managing a weekend is very different from what you have to do in France. It’s a championship where you quickly realise that before you can make the difference in a particular section of the track, you first have to be able to cross the finish line safely, bringing back a car in good condition to prepare for the next run.’
‘So I had to re-evaluate the way I do things, because that’s the only way to get a result at the end of the weekend. From one round to the next, the track changes, some sections get bumpy, while the ruts can get deeper. It’s not the same approach as in France, where the tracks are very stable and you know beforehand which sections to focus on.’
From a sporting point of view, the Frenchman will have fond memories of his time in Finland, where he claimed his first career podium at this level after a turbulent weekend.
‘The most memorable moment in terms of performance will undoubtedly be Kouvola. Although I wasn’t always successful, I had two consistent days in terms of lap times, so to finish on the podium was a real achievement after all the work we had put in. Nevertheless, in terms of tracks, Estering is clearly the one that has made the biggest impression on me.’
‘It is an extraordinary track with a lot of rhythm and a lot of changes of direction as well as sections where you have to slide. At Buxtehude, having a clean driving style doesn’t necessarily pay off and I was able to see that for myself. In any case, Finland and Germany remain for me the tracks where I had the most fun at all levels.’
