Road rallies – Rallye du Dourdou: Christophe Velardi champion of France 2016 – Scenery and surprise visits

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Rallye du Dourdou: Christophe Velardi champion of France 2016

Road rallies - Rallye du Dourdou: Christophe Velardi 2016 French champion - Scenery and surprise visits

Following a fall from Bruno Schiltz, Christophe Velardi won the 13th Dourdou rally and thus won the supreme title of French rally champion 2016 riding the Ducati 1200 Multistrada from Ducati Moto Prestige Ajaccio. Report.

Decor and surprise visits

Villecomtal, this still beautiful and picturesque little village of Aveyron (12), once again hosted the final round of the French rally championship with the thirteenth edition of the Dourdou Rally.

Sixth and last round of the 2016 championship, the Rallye du Dourdou filled up with competitors this year with a field of 150 participants. A few local riders and other newbies, but above all the top teams with their top riders such as Bruno Schiltz (Aprilia 1100 Tuono Kiwi Helmets) or Christophe Velardi (Ducati 1200 Multistrada), both scratch title contenders, separated by only 9 points…

Everything remains to be played in several categories and the vast majority of the paddock is in the starting blocks: the Dourdou, you must not miss it !

During the few days preceding the race, the nights are cool and the days barely hot … An unusual weather for this rally where we are more used to excessive heat. But at least the tar won’t melt !

Among those present, a big surprise awaited the elders: Emmanuel Siaux, winner of the, and Jerôme Argoud, former "Topsport" champion during this first decade of the third millennium, both police bikers injured during their service in recent years and today ‘hui locked on their respective wheelchairs (in principle temporarily for Jerôme, less seriously affected than Manu and who had planned to surprise us with a few steps, which he unfortunately will not be able to carry out due to excessive fatigue. ..). Both came to take a little the temperature of this championship by visiting their friends.

Especially Manu, moreover, who wants to start a team in 2017 with "good" pilots. He is therefore testing a few, like Stephane Toussaint here, an excellent Belgian driver with whom I will have the chance to ride during the prologue lap….

As for the absent, we regret of course Benoît Nimis, the Yamaha rider of the CMPN (Club Moto Police Nationale), injured during a heavy fall during the while he was in third position of the provisional scratch and could still play the second place before its fall. Not yet sufficiently recovered from his injuries, he is therefore not at the start of this final event.

Unusual program (as usual in Dourdou!)

An atypical but usual schedule for the Dourdou, unique because of its night stage before the day stage, i.e. the reverse of other rallies starting with the day stage.

The 2016 version is no exception to the rule, after a small loop of around thirty kilometers for a reconnaissance passage of the specials at sunset, a real night start is scheduled for Friday evening at 10 p.m..

Two loops (Villecomtal / Villcomtal) of about 75 km each are to be done with a passage in each of the two specials, Rodelle and Le Loyre.

The night arrival being scheduled around midnight, 1 a.m., the start of the day stage is scheduled for 10 a.m. the next day..

Four loops will be done during the day of Saturday with two specials per loop, for a total of nearly 500 km (with the recce lap) and 12 specials.

Saturday will end around 5 p.m. and the rally and championship awards ceremony will take place on Sunday from 10 a.m..

Marcus HIMSELF

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