Motorsport is in the Dumas genes. While Julien Dumas may not be a household name like his brother, Romain, he is no slouch in a kart. Porsche factory driver Romain also cut his teeth in karting, but rallying is where his real passion lies, and he has already notched up World Championship points in the discipline.

As merely competing did not satisfy his hunger for rallying, he founded his own company, RD Limited, early last year to build cars for himself and also for potential customers. It was one of Dumas Jr’s cars that Maurice, Dumas Sr, drove to overall victory in the Rallye du Gard. After the race, Romain was as pleased as Punch. He tweeted “Overall win in rally for my father! I have to say I am very proud of him. He just won the Rallye du Gard. With a Porsche & my team. So happy”.

Until now, both father and son had failed in their quest for victory on their own patch in the Cévennes area of France. This time, Dumas Sr relied on reputable co-driver Denis Giraudet, who had previously navigated for Didier Auriol and also for Stéphane Sarrazin who, coincidentally, will be doing battle with Dumas Jr at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans! And both natives of Alès are in with a real shout of overall victory on 14 June – Sarrazin with Toyota Racing and Dumas for Porsche Team.

Winning is something that Romain Dumas has obviously developed a taste for, as shown last June when he clinched first place in the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado at the wheel of a Norma M20 prepared by RD Limited. In January, he swapped this open-top prototype for a buggy when he lined up in the Dakar Rally for his charity, Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, a cause that the ACO has also supported for many years.

Cécile Bonardel / ACO – Translated from French by David Goward

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY 30 MAY 2015, TEST DAY. Romain Dumas was at the Le Mans Test Day while his dad was racing at Rallye du Gard.