Thursday 13th October 2011

Time For Tea? It's Jean Ragnotti

Rhyming headlines and a rally legend for today's cup-a-video

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Our occasional 'time for tea?' series continues today with this - a video tribute to the French Tarmac rally hero Jean Ragnotti.

Although Ragnotti is perhaps better known for his earlier career behind the wheel of a Group B Renault 5, the man is also a master of front-wheel drive cars. We defy you to watch his antics in various Clios and then tell us that front-wheel-drive rallying, Ragnotti-style, is boring.

As the caption at the beginning puts it (if our Collins Gem Pocket French Dictionary is correct), this is a fine "homage to Jean Ragnotti, a veritable motorsport legend, partly 'cos he's a bloody good bloke but mostly 'cos of his spectacular wheelmanship skills." Or something like that, anyway...

(A big tip of the hat to Mr Matt Joy for reminding us what a wizard Monsieur Ragnotti is.)

 

[anonymous-user]

The word amazing doesn't even begin to tell this story.
Wow.

[thewheelman]

Top class driving! Love seeing the Clio cocking a wheel on the bends

[Oddball RS]

Safe to say, he's a bit better than me! (Smidge) ;-)

[Johnboy Mac]

Wow, truly wonderful stuff.

[thewheelman]

This evokes chilhood memories of Ragnotti ragging the life out of this car....


14 seconds well worth watching right here.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWeue-NPhY&fea...

Edited by thewheelman on Wednesday 12th October 17:13

[h4muf]

Legend!

[k3ybo]

Wow. This makes me both deeply miss my old Clio valver and realise how uncommitted I was driving it...

[Benbay001]

A quarter of that pace, with me behind the wheel, and there would have been a spectacular crash. Wow

[rhysenna]

Good stuff. I like this just for the reverse spin!

Top man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZyUImGiaow

[warch]

The man must have cojones the size of watermelons. An ex girlfriend of mine owned one of these and it used to scare the hell of me, the panels were wafer thin. Having watched that I think I want one...

[dr_rallye]

Hats off to the man. Scandinavian flick on tarmac...

[soad]

Awesome, good video. Can't beat motorsports

[OlberJ]

Love it, my wanting for another French 16Valver has just trebled.

[scubadude]

Clearly a graduate of the "Drive it like you stole it School of motoring" :-)

Have to say I enjoyed seeing a Normal looking car (the first Clio) having its doors driven off, too often rally cars look more like rally-cross than road cars.

[mwstewart]

Fantastic driving, obviously, but that Clio looks superbly set up. It's incredibly precise.

[timbo48]

So that's where the term "ragging" comes from.......brilliant stuff.

[L100NYY]

Always enjoy that video

Here's my lil' daily driver....

[williamp]

And this is how the man parks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWeue-NPhY&fea...

[carinaman]

'Is that the Robertsons? Just to let you know Kimi needn't bother himself, we've signed Jean Ragnotti. Bye.'

[dvance]

Meh, just your average PHer Sunday pleasure drive as all of us here would agree!