However, the Team Dacia mechanics managed to repair the car on Saturday night and helped the French champion register the second fastest time in the first qualifying session.
"Above all, I would like to dedicate this result to the mechanics who spent much of the night rebuilding the car. This position practically exceeds our the wildest expectations we had for this, the car's first competitive outing of the year. There is still plenty of scope for improvement, however, and evolutions are planned in all areas," Alain Prost said in a statement.
Prost thus started from pole-position, while Jean-Philippe Dayraut followed him on the grid on the second spot. The result was a thrilling race, with the French crossing the finish line in first place.
"I am delighted to have given the Dacia Duster its first win. The race must have been very entertaining for the spectators. It was a virile fight, but perfectly sporting," said Alain Prost on the podium. "We came to Val Thorens aware that we weren't totally ready, but the team did a great job with the car all weekend and their efforts were rewarded with the car's maiden win. That shows that the Dacia Duster is fundamentally competitive out of the box and that our rivals will have to count us as a challenger for the title. Indeed, the weekend has brought us rich pickings in terms of points since I am currently second overall, just four points behind Jean-Philippe Dayraut."
Here are the final positions after the Val Thorens race:
1. Alain Prost (Dacia Duster
2. Olivier Panis (Skoda Fabia)
3. Hervé Knapick (BMW 1 Series)
4. Jean-Baptiste Dubourg (Renault Clio)
5. Franck Lagorce (Renault Clio)
6. Jean-Philippe Dayraut (Skoda Fabia)
7. Bertrand Balas (Toyota Auris)
8. Didier Thoral (Toyota Auris)
9. Benjamin Rivière (Fiat Stilo)
10. Olivier Pernaut (BMW 1 Series)
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