Road rallies – 5th South Morvan rally: the old-fashioned rally! – A unique road route

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5th South Morvan rally: the old-fashioned rally !

Road rallies - 5th South Morvan rally: the old-fashioned rally! - A unique road route

A great feat for Bruno Shiltz on the handlebars of his KTM 690 Duke R who brilliantly won this 5th round of the French championship. A rally with twists and turns, with a typical old-fashioned route, which has wreaked havoc in the rankings… Story.

A unique road route

The sun, very late this year, nevertheless seemed to have settled in Burgundy for the fifth round of the Frances rally championship 2013, on the occasion of the 5th South Morvan rally … But nay, l ‘night stopover will prove the opposite !

An organizational success in any case for the Racing Mob Creusotin, which held out against all odds for the race to take place. The low number of entries still two weeks before the event had almost canceled the race, but supplemented by the 31 registered in the, it is with 108 starters that the Morvan 2013 did indeed take place..

Unique road route

On the menu for the Rallye du Morvan: four different loops (A, B, C and D) which intertwine and cross over like a canvas for a total distance of nearly 570 km, unmarked, to be followed in the road book. The passages at certain intersections are made in different directions depending on the loops, which suggests that navigation may be difficult … The imposed hourly average of 50 km / h may well be saving !

Two superb specials: Sainte-Helène (6.3 km), already run last year, and Aigrefeuille (4.3 km), already known to the rally world in both directions, used in particular during the Dark Dog Moto Tour but in the opposite direction of the Rallye du Morvan this year. The day stage includes loops A (210 km) and B (173 km) and the night stage includes loops C (149 km) and D (33 km). Sainte-Helène will be done twice during loop A and once during loops B, C and D. Aigrefeuille is to be done only once during loops A, B and C. Eight specials are therefore planned in total..

The reconnaissance of the stages, authorized on this rally, allowed the participants to conscientiously take their marks on the previous days, which did not prevent the most conscientious pilots from also going to spot the course. Something that some will regret not having done…

"A rally is won in the stages but can get lost on the road"say the elders, which was not so obvious a short time ago given the evolution of the routes more and more easy to follow.

The magnificent Burgundy region will therefore be the scene of merciless battles on the specials, but also of unusual twists and turns during the links which will ultimately give a scratch podium for the least remarkable, following the few blunders and misadventures of the usual top drivers..

At the pre-race technical control, things started badly for me: certainly on the road between the pilot park of St-Jean-de-Vaux (71) where the pilot park is located and the Sevrey motorcycle center (71), place of controls and departure, I picked up a big jumper nail in my rear tire…

And to think that I was proud to have ridden this Bridgestone T30 train, finally available in the adequate dimensions for my Yamaha 1200 Super Tenere Yam Service…

Thanks to the efficiency of the friendly Thierry Boyer, who went off in a rush to look for a tubeless repair kit in his Triumph British Avenue store, the inconvenience caused by the squatting nail quickly became a bad memory! That said, I was no longer proud with a wick in the rear tire just before a rally start … "As long as it holds !"

Little wink also Nick Ayrton who had broken the engine of his antique Suzuki 1100 GSXR during the Thursday evening recce: he did not hesitate to take the road to Le Mans, alone, at 1am, to go get a second engine at home. He will be at the technical control on Saturday morning, engine replaced! When we have it in our blood…

Action !

Saturday morning, 9:00 am: start of the rally from the Sevrey Motorcycle Center. It’s sunny, it almost feels like spring !

The provisional leader of the 2013 French Rally Championship and 2012 title holder, Site and KTM official driver Julien Toniutti, this time riding a KTM 990 SMR, sets off first to brave the roads of the Morvan.

An easy connection of around thirty kilometers puts us in our legs before facing the first special at Saint Helena. The average of 50 km / h seems to leave us a little margin.

While driving strictly at "street legal" speeds to leave Sevrey on somewhat circulatory roads, with the PSRs (road safety platoons, snipers with binoculars but "guardian angels" of the rally discipline) on the lookout behind the thickets, we quietly arrive a few minutes early at the CH Sainte-Helène. I take a worried look at my rear tire: it seems to hold !

The Sainte-Helène special is very fast, made up of three different parts: first part in a hill climb style with beautiful curves, rows and a few pins, then a change of direction for a very, very fast part where the sportswomen overtake the 200 km / h before the first heavy braking, then "back to knock" in a row downhill with big heart, new change of direction and a nice narrow and technical descent in succession of hairpins.

Thibaut Bernard announces the color on the handlebars of his Honda 900 CBR RR and scratch the special in 3’34.72 … The "local" feels at home here too! A good driver undoubtedly, ex-stunter who participated in the Stunt Bike Show in Carole in 2008 and 2009, Thibaut’s conversion to a road rally seems to be going well. !

He is ahead of Mickael Porcu and his Husaberg 570 FS (3’36.17) and Florent Derrien on KTM 690 SM (3’38.89). The official KTM and pilot of the Journal moto du Net will be satisfied here with the fourth time, a few tenths behind Florent (3’39.15).

The route of this loop A will then take us to Aigrefeuille. The landscape is simply sublime and the roads make you dream! The 50 km / h average imposed remains wide, the road book is not very clear but so far everything is fine, the weather is fine, it feels like a vacation ride !

So that the 90 minutes of liaison pass quickly and given the advance it is preferable to stop a few kilometers before the special to be able to warm up the tires a little a few kilometers before teasing the stopwatch. Holiday atmosphere confirmed !

In Aigrefeuille, it was Mickael Porcu who set the best time on the handlebars of his Husaberg 570 FS in 2’15.94. Julien Toniutti seems to adapt well to his steed of the day, a KTM 990 SMR chosen in his program of the seven deadly sins to illustrate gluttony: he slams the second fastest time 59 hundredths behind Mickael, ahead of Florent Derrien (KTM 690 SM) in 2’18.59.

Thibaut Bernard and his Honda 900 CBR RR came close to the correction: excited by his best time in the first special, annoyed by a start of this special a little rushed (his time card was given to him 20 seconds before his start), he is a little optimistic at the controls of his hyper sports car, comes out a little too wide from a turn and it is the fall !

Fortunately without gravity, he lost about thirty seconds to restart and obtained the 78th fastest time, almost 36 seconds behind Mickael Porcu.

On the side-cars side, a fine performance by the Christophe Boudier / Vincent Marty crew on their Voxan 996 Choda team, here more than 20 seconds from the best scratch time (38th scratch time) but ahead of the leading team in the category at provisional championship, the Amblards (Alain and Olivier) on their Choda 1100 Kawasaki ZZR from the 90s, which will only reveal the real reason for the similarity of their name at the end of the season…

Nick "Terminator" Ayrton on his Suzuki 1100 GSXR dominates the "Classic" category after this first passage in the two stages of the rally.

Further in the lap, we find the 125 4-stroke with Michel Bonneau on KTM 125 Duke who is pushing to pass the young Tanguy Brebion and his 125 HM, leader of the category in the provisional championship (with 10 points in advance). ). After this first passage in the two stages, Michel slams better times than Tanguy…

As for the Challenge Central Team, the leader Pierre-Jean Dufour on the handlebars of his Honda 1000 CBR slams times worthy of the Elite riders (17th at Sainte-Helène and 15th at Aigrefeuille).

Things get complicated…

A one-hour link then brings us back to the Sevrey Motorcycle Center for CH4 (fourth time control) and take the road to Sainte-Helène for a second passage.

A road always so beautiful, the weather also, but the things will get complicated … The indications of the road book are not very precise and can incite to the doubt, even to the error in view of the numerous intersections of small roads sometimes not very obvious, which forces you to stay focused so as not to take wrong directions that would cause you to miss a passage control or waste time getting back on the right track.

Some pilots have chosen to ride together, which makes it easier to navigate the most uncertain, but if the leader of the group hesitates during a change of direction, the following also hesitate and everyone is gardening in his corner…

What happens among top pilots, especially for the official KTM of the Journal moto du Net, Julien Toniutti, or Florent Derrien, Nicolas Pautet and Franck Coudert.

In total, nearly 45 "garden" pilots will be late at CH5 in Saint Helena: 8 minutes late for Julien Toniutti on KTM 990 SMR (8 times 15 seconds penalty), 6 for Flo Derrien (KTM 690 SMR), 5 for Nicolas Pautet on his Husaberg 650 FS and Franck Coudert on his Ducati 1200 Multistrada, 20 minutes for Tanguy Brebion (125 HM), etc. It’s the stampede !

Sainte-Helène, second passage: Franck Coudert, certainly to overcome his anger at the late score, slams the best time on the handlebars of his Ducati 1200 Multistrada in 3’34.40, ahead of Thibaut Bernard (Honda 900 CBR RR, 3’35 , 24) and the "greedy" KTM 990 SMR n ° 1 by Julien Toniutti (3’36.52).

Bad luck for Mickael Porcu, who was on time at CH5: he breaks the engine of his Husaberg 570 FS in the special and finds himself "out" for the race !

Here we are quite quickly (eyes riveted on the road book) in St-Jean-de-Vaux, central point of the rally, for a 30-minute break.

Loop B: 173 km from St-Jean to St-Jean with one passage in each of the two specials.

Almost no one will show up late for the next CH. The road plays for a lot on this rally, a little like during the rallies of yesteryear when road safety was not what it is today and where the imposed hourly averages required a sustained pace to reach the point. ‘time … Here it is the navigation which predominates, unfortunately with a badly designed road book which leads to errors … However several pilots, especially those who had been able to recognize the road course, still checked in on time !

So here we are again at Aigrefeuille this time, second passage of the day: Bruno Shiltz, who until then obtained 6th, 4th and 5th times and not having taken any penalties at CH5, riding his KTM 690 Duke R "personal", signs the best time in 2’17.65. He is ahead of Florent Derrien on KTM 690 SM (2’18.39) and Julien Toniutti on KTM 990 SMR (2’18.58).

The battle is bloody on the side-cars side between the Voxan 996 Choda of the Boudier / Marty crew and the Choda 1100 Kawasaki ZZR of the "couple" (?) Amblard who fight with the blows of tenths.

In 125, Michel Bonneau only has to ensure: he did not take a penalty while his direct competitor Tanguy Brebion took a "suitcase" … The rankings will be upset this evening !

A driver who is still as doubtful as he is magnificent now brings us to Saint Helena for the last special of the day. The weather is always summer … It’s nice to finally ride in the dry !

For my part, the repair of my rear tire by Thierry Boyer is holding up well! I was still able to get to know this famous Bridgestone T 30, already in the dry: tip top! I was worried that its behavior would be different from the BT 023 with which I have been riding since the start of the championship, so well had I adapted to it, but RAS, it’s the ball !

My Yamaha 1200 Super Tenere Yam Service even made the footrests rub with pleasure when cornering, proof that this tire holds the floor! I just felt a more pronounced screeching on the rear tire than with the BT 023 during heavy braking that involves the ABS.

It is true that I haven’t had much opportunity to ride in "hot" dry conditions since the start of the season … We would have to compare the two tires in identical conditions but this T 30 looks excellent..

Sainte-Helène, third and last day pass: Franck Coudert does it again and once again takes the best time on the handlebars of his Ducati 1200 Multistrada (3’32.57) ahead of Thibaut Bernard (Honda 900 CBR RR) in 3 ’33, 61 and once again Julien Toniutti (KTM 990 SMR) in 3’33.82.

The daytime stage route ends in Saint-Jean-de-Vaux: end of loop B.

In the classification of the stage, the penalties clean up: Bruno Shiltz (KTM 690 Duke R) finds himself at the head of the race with more than 18 seconds ahead of the second who is none other than Laurent Filleton, pilot of ‘an Aprilia 1000 Tuono, just over a second ahead of the courageous Nicolas Derrien on a Triumph 675 Street Triple. Victim of a sprained ankle during a stupid fall (like most bowls!) During reconnaissance, it was on painkillers and anti-inflammatories that Nico held the handlebars !

Nice coup for the winner of the Challenge Central Team (classification on the day stage only): Pierre-Jean Dufour on Honda 1000 CBR occupies tenth place in the general scratch !

Marcus HIMSELF

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