Road rallies – 71st Rallye de l’Ain: the Corsican recurrence! –

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71st Rallye de l’Ain: the Corsican recurrence !

Road rallies - 71st Rallye de l'Ain: the Corsican recurrence! -

Following a misstep by the sinister Grolandais knight Serge Nuques, it was the Corsican Thomas Garcin who won this 71st edition of the Rallye de l’Ain in the day / night combination (3/2), while Emmanuel Siaux decided to stop the motorbike… Report.

Once again, we were not bored this weekend in the Ain, cradle of the road rally: a beautiful rally, mixed weather and repeated twists … But the course was not so simple and following a misstep by the sinister Grolandais knight Serge Nuques, it is the Corsican Thomas Garcin who wins this edition in the day / night combination (3/2).

So here we are in Poncin for this 71st edition of the Ain rally, the third round of the 2008 French rally championship. The days before the race, during the recce, the weather is fine and the pilots are getting organized to recognize the two specials. in safety: it is enough for someone to take turns in a blind bend to signal in the event of a vehicle arriving in the wrong direction … The rallymen can therefore be as disciplined, when they want !

Unfortunately these protections do not prevent falls … Nicolas Blanchemanche, a little new to rallying, nevertheless drove cleanly during these recos, surely driving his beautiful KTM 990. But a bad slip will send him to the heap … Diagnosis : eight ribs and a broken ankle, a slightly affected lung … The road does not make a gift! Good recovery to you Nico !

The "fall" of the Knight

Serge Nuques loves records … The one he wins at the start of the rally is the one of the earliest fall on the road, held so far by Nick Ayrton, who had shamefully fallen from the passage in the first ruelle de Poncin, during the 2006 edition, 100 meters after the start! The knight will drop his Yamaha 450 WRF "Les Deux Roues" (but voluntarily, this time!) One meter from the start: record broken !

In the series "antics", we will also remember the new look of a recent top of the discipline: currently in third place "Elite" of the provisional, Julien Toniutti, alias "Superduc", takes the start on the handlebars of his KTM 990 Superduke like a super hero !

The first section of the route is very short: only 7 km after the start, here we are at the first special (Challes). Of course, it’s raining! This short special (2 km) was already very slippery during recce in the dry … In the wet, it promises !

First surprise of the day: the best scratch times went to … Fabrice Lescuyer on his Aprilia 550 SXV in 1’38.616, more than two seconds ahead of the Chevalier (1’40.625)! A local, and even more than local, since Fabrice (also driver in the French Supermoto championship) lives on the special in question !

In addition, Serge Nuques passed while the special was very wet, while during my passage an hour later it was already a little dry and therefore almost dry during the passage of Fabrice with his n ° 334.

A difficult journey

The second special is quite far in the course: we will not join it until more than an hour and a half later (nearly 80 terminals! The complete loop in fact more than 130) The weather is still wobbly and makes you feel the importance for the leading drivers of the championship to follow each other in the same time slot, so that the weather conditions do not favor anyone…

Although splendid, the road course deserves to be recognized: many changes of direction and the different routes between the day and night stage make it necessary to be sure of the direction to take … which will trap it. more than one !

Then comes the village of Nebois, the start of the second special, hardly longer than that of Challes but radically different! Here, it’s mega grip and high speed! A pool table, it looks like a hill climb !

This time, the Chevalier Nuques le Basque du Groland imposes his law and sets the best time, 6 tenths ahead of … Frederic Demias on Triumph 675 Daytona! Another local, n ° 333! Two tenths behind, we find Emmanuel Siaux and his Buell XB12 STT while Fabrice Lescuyer gets the 46th fastest time.

Emmanuel Siaux: a page turns…

During the second lap of the road in this daytime stage, several events were to be noted … Emmanuel Siaux, although having completed a fifth fastest time on the second passage through Challes, remained in the top 5. He entered the Nebois special with serenity. And when I see his "crumpled" motorcycle on the embankment, just after a left turn during my passage in this special, I fear the worst … But shortly after, I find him sitting on a staircase in a small village crossed by the course! "Phew, he has nothing!"

"I lost the rear a bit on the accelerator", he confides to Site with a smile, and to continue:"I stop the Marcus bike, it’s over, I stop…"I couldn’t stay chatting, time was running out and I had the loop to finish, so when I left after giving him a friendly nod, I still hear him yelling at me"it’s over Marcus … over !"A statement that sounded really thoughtful … The future will tell. !

It was Florent Parret who won the scratch of this Nebois special in 1’17.536, almost four tenths ahead of Sergei (1’17.929) !

Accident !

Bad plan for Stephane Guignan, who will put his beautiful Triumph 675 Street Triple on the ground, in connection, all alone, and get a nasty fracture of the humerus … Good recovery, Steph !

Not seen but known !

Precisely at the same place where I had found a disillusioned Manu, at this intersection where you had to turn right for the daytime route and opposite for the night route, children from the village watch the motorcycles pass and cheer Sergei in Seeing him arrive … And a Grolandais, it likes us to look at him, so that makes him interesting … So here is the sinister Knight who slams a majestic stoppie in front of these few pairs of eyes in short pants, amazed in front of the master’s figures !

Once back on his "Two Wheels", Serge continues straight ahead, forgetting that the day route started to the right … It is only after a few kilometers that the evil character realizes his mistake … but he continues all the same, carefree, telling himself that all roads lead to Groland and that in any case, there were no CP (passage controls) in the first lap, so no need to make extra milestones for nothing … But the turns follow one another and are not alike, because this time there was one, from CP !

At the end of the stage, the Grolando-Basque has a nice game to deploy all his legendary bad faith by trying to convince that he had gone to CP (it could have worked, who knows?), But here he is. and well out of the race, downgraded from the day stage !

Bravo to Cedric Mac Ginley: with a name of Scottish origin, it does well on a Beta 400, a newcomer in the yellow plates! 14th by day, 18th by night, he will finish third in the Sport category.

Curtat at the top of the bill !

In the daytime stage classification, we find in first position Patrick Curtat: a young 50-year-old rallyman riding a KTM 990 Superduke, who distinguished himself at the Moto Tour 2004 with his second place behind Serge Nuques (read our).

Alain Amblard (KTM 660 SMC) is second, followed by … Thomas Garcin the Corsican !

Night stage

At the start of the night, the Grolandais knight has not lost any of his desire to win: even with one step less, he remains at the top of the provisional championship classification. But now he’s no longer allowed to make mistakes !

On the menu tonight: a large shortened lap (90 km) plus a short 18 km lap, or three specials. The latter are also rather wet … well, depending on the progress in the passages … Who said that the rally was a lottery? ?

This time, the Grolandais does not give a gift and plasters all the specials, with big seconds on his pursuers! Thomas Garcin approaches him the most, but never less than 4 seconds … And Superduc? 10th in the daytime stage, Julien Toniutti climbs back up nicely at night and finishes in third place on the stage, 6 hundredths behind Thomas (who is in second position, almost 18 seconds behind the Chevalier! to be born a super alliance "super basque" between the two super lads … To be continued !

Final general

In the final classification of the rally, Serge Nuques having only one stage out of two, it is therefore Thomas Garcin who brilliantly wins the event: it is his second rally after that of Corsica where he was not very lucky. , but still got a 14th place (read). Respect !

The second place goes to Patrick Curtat: consistency and experience, so there are not only drawbacks to take from the bottle! Then we find Julien "Superduc" Toniutti on his KTM 990 Superduke.

The awards ceremony, on Mother’s Day Sunday, begins with a reward for the mothers of the rallies in the race! Friendly attention that earned us a heartfelt thank you from the mother of mothers: Ms. Guillemoz in person, co-organizer of this great rally, touched by the gesture.

On the side-cars side, Laurent Guillet and David Chanal on their Choda 1000 GSXR confirm their first place in the provisional category.

And the first girl: bravo to Evelyne Colombet (56th in the rally, 11th "Sport"). Suddenly, Alain Amblard is in love…

In the provisional Elite championship, Serge Nuques retains the lead with 136 points, now followed by a new super friend in the person of the "Superduc" Julien Toniutti with his 97 points. The third place goes to Jerôme Argoud of the CMPN on Yamaha FZ6 (84 points) while Alain Amblard, first Mono, is in fourth position just two points behind Jerôme (82) … The podium is not far Gaston – the nickname of Alain Amblard, for the initiated -, still a little effort !

It’s official: Option Sport Evenement offers free entries for the next Dark Dog Tour! Awarded at each event of the French rally championship, a free entry fee is given to the first Hope, as well as to the first in an NCB license and to the first over 45 years old! Those who have won one of these commitments in a rally cannot accumulate them by winning one of the above categories, the prize will therefore be awarded to the second, and so on … Good news, isn’t it? Here, it is therefore Thomas Garcin (first Hope) who has just pocketed the nest egg … !

See you on July 12 and 13 in Dourdou for the Villecomtal Rally … Stay tuned !

Marcus HIMSELF

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