Rallye des Coteaux: an anthology final !
Bruno Schiltz, driver of the CTM83 team on KTM 1290 Superduke, wins the Elite SW Motech and Rallye 1 championship titles despite difficult weather conditions and the victory of Julien Toniutti (Triumph Street Triple RS). Story.
Rallye des Coteaux page 2: Saturday 9th, the key stage !
10:00 am: departure for the prologue loop, the ultimate recognition of the specials … The tension is maximum on the side of the two main contenders for the title, but Ajaccian pilot Christophe Velardi keeps smiling, far from imagining the infernal whirlwind of penalties who are waiting for him…
132 drivers line up for the start of this first edition of the Rallye des Coteaux.
It starts badly: Maxime Delorme, who played in the top 5 until then, goes to the heap and must give up … Courage Maxime, you will catch up in 2018 !
Then the rain invites itself in Mauves and it is the waltz of the tires … The majority of the top pilots – Velardi, Toniutti, Filleton, Cheylan, Nimis and the others – opt for "rain" climbs before going to tease the lap times, but Bruno Schiltz chooses to keep his tires "dry" because if the rain stops, the road will dry up very quickly … Verdict at the first special !
Indeed, the times of the first passage to the special of Plats are eloquent: Christophe Velardi spanks everyone by being the only one to climb in less than three minutes (2’59.92). He sticks more than 7.5 seconds to his direct opponent Bruno Schiltz, finally hampered by his tires (the road is wet!), Who only obtains a ninth time here (3’07.44).
Christophe is followed by Julien Toniutti in 3’02.02. Surprise in third position: we find the KTM RC8 Choda sidecar of the "ex-champion of France" crew Herve Laur and Marie Laure Ferrieu, who came to participate in this rally "for fun" from time to time..
On arrival on the second special of the course, Amboulons, about twenty kilometers further, things get complicated: Bruno Schiltz is one minute late at the time control (CH)! Christophe Velardi, who started behind Bruno (the departures of the top 20 are staggered according to the order of the provisional classification of the championship), undoubtedly not wanting to waste time calculating his ideal clocking time, follows in Bruno’s footsteps and point at the same time as him. Moral: 30 seconds late at this same CH !
This time, Julien Toniutti places his Triumph Street RS 765 at the top of the bill in 3’04.64 ahead of Bruno Schiltz in 3’06.12. The "new kid" Frederic Galtier (KTM 1290 Superduke R), already noted for his excellent lap times during the previous rallies, finished third in 3’08.24, more than 2 seconds ahead of another top gun, Benoît Nimis ( Yamaha MT-10). On his Ducati 1200 Multistrada, Christophe Velardi gets the fifth fastest time (3’10.83).
The loop is short and there is only a little over 40 kilometers left to reach Mauves, but the times are tight and the penalties will continue to fall … Just like the rain! The sometimes very intense showers discourage a good number of participants, some having fallen in special or even on the road course, in particular on "an interminable descent on the village of Saint-Peray, without any grip and very tricky", specifies Julien Toniutti questioned by MNC. They will thus be nearly twenty not to leave for the second round…
Christophe Velardi, him, recovers a layer on his own: following the penalties of the previous CH (one minute for Bruno and 30 seconds for Christophe), the Ajaccien took the place of opener in front of Bruno on the road course, without no one in front of him to set his next score at the next CH! The problem may seem simple from the outside, but with the pressure of the race, moreover on which we play the title, the human brain does not (always) work like a computer….
Calculate what time you have to clock in at the next CH, while driving on a narrow road like a string, in the rain, following a road book, knowing that you should not hang around because the times are tight , is not always an easy task !
And what should not have happened happened: Christophe points 2 minutes early at CH 6 and thus receives an additional 30 seconds of penalty (price: 7.5 seconds per 30 seconds, or 15 seconds penalty per minute in advance or late)…
Message to future rallymen: in your training program, insert periods of mental arithmetic exercise (additions, notions of the sexagesimal system) in the shower or on the way to work in traffic … it can save a title of champion !
The rain showers are irregular: as soon as it stops and the road starts to dry, the rain starts again! The rally is sometimes a bit like the lottery: with luck we can pass on a drying special which will be wet for the others, or which was still wet when the first ones passed….
On the second round of the Plats special, it was the crew of the Choda KTM RC8 team of Herve Laur and Marie-Laure Ferrieu who won gold (hihi) in 3’02.71. They are followed by Emmanuel Gonzalez on the handlebars of the KTM 690 Duke R n ° 135 in 3’02.90. Christophe Velardi tries to save the furniture by obtaining the third time (3’03.81).
Following the fatal errors of Christophe Velardi, Bruno Schiltz only has to ensure to pocket the title: he only places here 15th position, 7.87 seconds behind the best time..
At Amboulons, Julien Toniutti is again the fastest in 3’05.18, i.e. 2’22 seconds ahead of the second time which is none other than Bruno Schiltz at the controls in 3’07.40.
"I had the impression that I was dragging myself too much", Bruno Schiltz explains to MNC: "in special, I cannot ride slowly, I no longer have any marks, so I prefer to ride with my hand, depending on the conditions which are quite complicated on this rally ".
The third pendulum goes to Benoît Nimis just one second behind Bruno in 3’08.40 while Christophe Velardi is fourth, 6 tenths of a second behind Benoît.
In Rally 2 Tecnoglobe, Maxime Mettra ensures the blow and remains in ambush on the handlebars of the KTM 690 Duke 4 CTM83, but it does not sleep in front! Especially for the young Tanguy Brebion (Husqvarna 701 SM) who wins the seconds ahead of Maxime…
Note also, in the Rallye 2 Tecnoglobe category, the performances of Florian Meneret (KTM 690 Duke) and David Sainjon (Yamaha MT-07) who play in the top ten of this day stage !
Third lap, third passage through Flats: the Choda KTM RC8 team is talking about it again and the Herve Laur and Marie Laure Ferrieu crew slam the best pendulum in 2’57.16. It’s not raining anymore, it’s starting to dry out…
Second time for Damien Lauret (KTM 990 Superduke) in 2’59.91 ahead of David Sainjon in 3’01.05. The road was still wet when the first passed and we find Christophe Velardi in sixth position, 2 hundredths of a second ahead of Julien Toniutti (3’04.58 against 3’04.60).
Further in the classification, the hourly penalties are going well … Some even skip passage controls (CP) and there will be a good sixty competitors to "take pawns" on this day stage !
Last passage at Amboulons for this first stage: Julien Toniutti once again imposes his Triumph Street RS in 3’02.72 in front of the promising Tanguy Brebion (Husqvarna 701 SM) in 3’04.52 and Benoît Nimis (Yamaha MT-10 ), two hundredths later (3’04.54).
Marcus HIMSELF
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