Road rallies – 7th Corsican rally: Emperor Toniutti wins – Start in the Corsican rain!

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7th Corsica rally: Emperor Toniutti wins

Road rallies - 7th Corsican rally: Emperor Toniutti wins - Start in the Corsican rain!

Site pilot Julien Toniutti wins the third round of the French rally championship in Corsica riding a KTM 500 EXC, at the end of a race with twists and turns in a grandiose setting but in terrible weather… Story.

Departure under the Corsican rain !

The assistance park is transformed into a paddling pool … For the tanning of the assistants, it’s missed and the race will be long for everyone !

Pietrosella special: 4.4 km of small bumpy road with beautiful rows interspersed with blind bends … Hot! Best time for the island rider Jose Campocasso on a Honda 450 HM in 3’50.29, a talented driver but outside the championship registered only for the day stage. He is ahead of Mickael Porcu (Husaberg 570 FS) in 3’52.05 and Paul Christian Piazza (Yamaha 450 WRF), the young Corsican prodigy who changed discipline this year for the Supermotard (in the official JR team) but returned to the rally the time of a test, in 3’54.83.

Our official KTM Site pilot, Julien Toniutti, tries to save the furniture with his "dry" tires on his KTM 500 EXC: he gets the 13th fastest time by making his way through the local fighter planes, more than 15 seconds from the better and less than 9 tenths behind Florent Derrien, motivated at the controls of his KTM 690 SM … mounted on rain tires !

Hard blow for the "Galinette" Stephanie Combes on Honda 500 CB n ° 305 which falls in this special. Out for the rally, Steph ‘will happily come out with a simple strain on his wrist. The 500 CB on the other hand is a little more banged up…

The connection is technical (difficult to do otherwise in Corsica!) And passes through Coti Chiavari, plunging into the mountain before then descending to Petretto Picchisano. Too bad the graying weather does not allow you to enjoy these magical landscapes! More than 80 km of road route allow you to reach the Eccica Suarella neutralization CH, a handful of kilometers (8.1 exactly) before the second special of the route: the Stone Bridge.

It is the: 2.9km always so "brittle", with a nice row very, very fast (and bumpy) from the start, then a succession of more or less clean turns (with a few bleedings and change of asphalt near).

Another special victory for Jose Campocasso on his Honda 450 HM: in 2’26.83 the island rider this time ahead of another of his compatriots: Flavien Coitoux on Aprilia 550 SXV 1.66 seconds behind. Mickael Porcu and his Husaberg 570 FS will be content with third time, less than a tenth behind Flavien Coitoux. Our MNC rider Juli-1 Toniutti regained the upper hand on this somewhat less "wet" special and slammed the 7th scratch time, followed at 1.15 seconds by his shadow of the Moto Journal du Net Nicolas Pautet team. A short link then brings the competitors back to Porticcio to complete this first passage.

Arrived at the assistance park, we repair the small injuries of the first round. Paul-Christian Piazza replaces a brake disc damaged during a collision with his compatriot Flavien Coitoux, with whom he was driving during the liaison. Sometimes it doesn’t take much for a race to fail…

Another stroke of fate for Mickael Porcu: puncture! Everything can not always go well and this mishap will cost him 7.30 minutes of penalty.

Second grand tour The start of the second day’s lap will see no more sun than at the start of the rally. On the contrary: the seventh Rallye de Corse is showered with downpours for this second loop! The lull only lasted a few kilometers on the first lap…

We are back at the Pietrosella special, where we repeat the same ones in a different order: Jose Campocasso wins on his Honda 450 HM in 3’45.78, ahead of Paul-Christian Piazza on his KTM 450 EXC (3 ‘ 46.56) and Mickael Porcu on his Husaberg 570 FS (3’47.23).

This time, the "multi-KTM" rider in the colors of Site Julien Toniutti slams a fifth time, 2.91 seconds behind the first.

Bad plan for Paul-Christian Piazza: a power failure forced him to be towed back to the runners park … Out for the day stage! Will he leave tonight ?

At the Pont de la Pierre, second passage of the day: Jose Campocasso once again hoists his Honda 450 HM to the top of the standings in 2’26.16, just over 2 tenths ahead of Luc Deiana on KTM 690 SM (2’26, 39) and 1.06 seconds ahead of Mickael Porcu’s third time (Husaberg 570 FS).

Behind, things move: the first "continental" rider is none other than a (crazy?) Rider of the team Site: Nicolas "Crazy" Pautet on his antique Husaberg 650 FS slams a seventh time in 2’30.23 ! Our champion Julien Toniutti, handicapped by his "dry weather" tires on the Pont de la Pierre special this time very wet, obtains the 16th fastest time more than 9 seconds from the first … Quick return to Porticcio to complete this second daytime lap.

In the runners’ park, it’s all boiling: tinkering and various repairs, reconditioning … There have been a lot of falls and more or less severe breakages. One of the most comical "breakages" is certainly that suffered by Benjamin Garniaux, pilot of the KTM 690 SMC n ° 334: having broken his ignition key in the contactor, he is unable to open the fuel cap for refueling! It’s really nerd…

Meanwhile Alain Amblard, leader of the Sidecar category of the 2013 French championship but also plumber-heating specialist by profession, works on Tanguy Brebion’s HM 125 F to resolder his broken exhaust at the cylinder outlet … art !

Another solidarity action: Paul-Christian Piazza, who has just decided to throw in the towel and will therefore not be leaving this evening, saddened by Julien Toniutti’s fitting in tires, gives him his tire before rain … Nice gesture !

After a neutralization at the end of the second loop extended to 1h30 in order to pick up the last competitors in the peloton – the latter being too out of step due to the numerous interruptions of the race following the multiple crashes in the specials -, the rain stopped for the last (and small) day loop.

Small day tour

So it’s off again for the Pietrosella special with a still very wet road. Flavien Coitoux posted the best time on his Aprilia 550 SXV (3’37.64), 2.69 seconds ahead of Mika Porcu and 6.68 seconds ahead of Julien Toniutti who takes third time (things are better on wet tires!).

Jose Campocasso – who will see his indisputable victory in this daytime stage fly away due to a penalty of one minute for excessive speed in liaison – obtains the 4th fastest time, some 8 tenths behind Julien.

Bad pick for the Amblard crew: Alain and Olivier set off at the controls of their Choda 1100 ZZR … Abandonment, chassis folded. There will be work to restore the machine to the rest of the championship…

The link to the Pont de la Pierre special is more than shortened to around thirty kilometers. The weather seemed to want to finally make way for the sun, but the rain came back to point its drops … Porticcio is not yet in the …

Pont de la Pierre, last of the day: Jose Campocasso, above the lot since the start of the rally, once again sets himself the best time on the handlebars of his Honda 450 HM in 2’26.13.

Second and third fastest time for the Site Nicolas Pautet, alias "Crazy" team pilots, ahead of his friend Julien Toniutti by less than 5 tenths: 2’27.57 for the Husaberg 650 FS of Nicolas Pautet, 2’28 , 04 for Julien Toniutti’s KTM 500 EXC.

The daytime stage therefore ends on this sixth special and the rankings will be shaken up with the application of numerous penalties: by doing the accounts, by counting the penalties and the non-championship drivers, it’s a good operation in the French championship. for the official KTM rider of the Journal moto du Net Julien Toniutti, who pockets the jackpot of points by winning this stage! The same goes for Nicolas Pautet who takes second place, bravo !

In Porticcio, the riders have 1h30 to prepare the motorcycles before the night stage. The ranks are partially reduced following the many withdrawals, but for the points to be taken tonight everything is reset to zero…

Another nice gesture of solidarity typical of rallies with a big helping hand to Julien Toniutti from Michel Marchini: the top Corsican driver, unable to participate in the event due to a crash during reconnaissance for a few days previously (wrist fracture), came as a spectator and offered Julien Toniutti, when he only had about fifty minutes of assistance left, a rear rain tire then mounted on his motorcycle which remained in Ajaccio! Neither one nor two: Julien tries the operation !

Thanks to the active participation of Carlo Scanu – also a spectator following his – for the dismantling and transport of the precious tire, Julien manages to equip his KTM 500 EXC with a complete "rain" ride … 5 minutes from time maximum allocated for assistance !

Marcus HIMSELF

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