Franceschi needs to overturn a deficit of 27 points and hope other results go his way on Rally Silesia to become the first French ERC champion since Simon Jean-Joseph triumphed in 2007.
Michelin-equipped Franceschi remains in the ERC title hunt after he returned to the podium on JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion earlier this month, albeit missing out on the runner-up spot to Andrea Mabellini by 3.5sec on the event-deciding Power Stage.
The 25-year-old explained why: “To be honest on the Power Stage it was difficult. The tyre choice was nice but the conditions were really destroyed with a lot of mud on the road and really slippery. I always think about Sweden [when I crashed on the Power Stage] because you have to go at the end. The performance wasn’t there [in Wales] but it’s a podium and this is good. It’s not over for the championship but to be champion a miracle needs to come.”
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