Road rallies – Rallye du Dourdou 2012: half rain, half Corsica! – The night race

Posted on by admin

Rallye du Dourdou 2012: half rain, half Corsica !

Road rallies - Rallye du Dourdou 2012: half rain, half Corsica! - The night race

Corsican driver Carlo Scanu (Honda 450 CRF) won the ninth rally in Dourdou ahead of Florent Derrien and Flavien Coitoux, both on KTM 690 SMC. An unusual podium for an extraordinary rally: but where are the leaders ? Report.

The night run

10:30 pm: Julien Toniutti sets off on the handlebars of the official KTM 990 Superduke, probable French rally champion in 2012. The black is complete behind him, but in front of it is more than white with its Tecnoglobe lighting which tears the night apart! The next minute, it’s not Bruno Langlois but Paul-Christian Piazza who leaves in his KTM 450 EXC.

For the moment it is not raining, the road is dry and the first to arrive immediately at the first special, Villecomtal, located just 2 km from the start.

Mickael Porcu took the best times on his Husaberg 570 FS in 2’14.74, barely two tenths better than Julien Toniutti (2’14.93). Bruno Shiltz on Suzuki 750 GSR is third at 4 seconds and Paul-Christian Piazza fourth at 4 tenths: Injured to the knee, Paul-Christian suffers from a ligament tear contracted during a motocross session a few days before.

When I arrive at the start of this first special, starting in 37th position, five or six drivers in front of me are stuck at the start. Three falls are already listed among the first 30 parties! In particular ASM ACO rider Cedrick Duveau on Suzuki 400 DRZ, who crashed heavily. The special is blocked for almost an hour, the time to evacuate Cedrick who will come out with a fractured sternum and some other bruises.

During this time, the weather has changed and a few fine drops of rain quickly turn into downpours … Leaving cold, immediately after the start and directly in the wet, is hardly reassuring. I take this opportunity to thank the people from Bridgestone and especially Yoann Chazarin from Dream Bike, Yamaha and Kawasaki dealer in La Primaube, near Rodez (12), who did their best to find me the day before the race a train from tire that I have been using since the start of the championship, it has thrilled me with its handling and its grip on all types of road: the Bridgestone S 20! I could have started to appreciate it also on a "slightly" wet road during the Ain rally (read), but now I feel that I will be able to validate my first good impression !

Rain of penalties…

By ensuring a maximum (I am not entitled to error because I have a report to write for MNC!), I get the 35th fastest time in 3’02.08, rather satisfactory since the first 30 rode on the dry. So it’s confirmed: the Bridgestone S 20 is an excellent rally tire !

The route that follows is not easy: the small roads, already difficult in the dry, are even more so in the rain and navigation is difficult. A little "gardening" (finding your way in rallyman dialect) and we quickly "take pawns" (late penalties at time control) … Times are rather tight given the state of the roads and a lot pilots (including myself) do not show up on time everywhere: penalties are raining…

Almost everyone goes there, like Julien Toniutti or Alain Fratini because of a breakdown of their Vectors which could not stand the rain and simply died out along the way. The Vector, an electronic tripmaster essential for navigation, accurately indicates the partial distances between the indications in the road-book. Without this information the road error is inevitable, as Julien and Alain, among others, have been able to verify. Julien is thus three minutes late at CH 4 (you shouldn’t miss the small road on the left!) And gets a 45-second penalty (the price is 15 seconds per minute late).

Paul-Christian Piazza, wedged one minute behind Julien, takes the same penalty and Mickael Porcu takes 1mn15, which relegates him to 21st place in the night stage. Bruno Schiltz receives a 15-second penalty.

As for the sidecars there is no cut either and the crew more than a hundred years old (with their two ages added!) Amblard / Bourdiaux on the Mathushalemien Choda 1100 Kawasaki team takes a full minute … In short, c is the hecatomb !

On the night stage, only about twenty drivers do not take penalties.

At the Mouret special it’s wet for everyone and the first three are in the same second: Paul-Christian Piazza has the best time in 2’18.28 on the handlebars of his KTM 450 EXC (despite his painful knee) ahead of Mickael Porcu on Husaberg 570 FS in 2’18.30 and the official KTM rider Julien Toniutti on KTM 990 Superduke in 2’18.71.

For my part, now reassured by these Bridgestone S20s that I did not really know in the wet before that rainy night, I put a little more than in Villecomtal and I reach 17th time in 2’30.82. Four little seconds less and I was in the 10…

And as long as I’m talking about myself, as much to say that apart from the pure performance of my rather sluggish Aprilia 750 Dorsoduro or my great satisfaction with the Bridgestone S20 tires, the quality of certain equipment deserves to be highlighted: in particular the Skyrich lithium battery which equips my bike, which I had ridden on just before the Rallye de la Sarthe at the start of the championship (read and). Not only has it not caused me any particular problem since, but it has withstood all this Aveyron night stage very well with everything permanently on (standard headlight and additional Tecnoglobe xenon lights), without batting an eyelid and without causing any starting problems. the next day. All this for the price of a Yuasa by the end of the year, word of Sifam !

Following the delay incurred in the first special, the short loop with the second night passage through the Villecomtal special was canceled. The night stage therefore ends at the end of this first loop.

The penalties are heavy, which pays off for those who don’t: Jerôme Argoud on KTM 990 Superduke wins the stage ahead of Florent Derrien (KTM 690 SMC) and Carlo Scanu (Honda 450 CRF). The pilot KTM official website Julien Toniutti on KTM 990 Superduke tumbles to fourteenth place on the stage !

Marcus HIMSELF

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *