Rallye de la Sarthe: Julien Toniutti at the force of the wrist !

Impressive result from Julien Toniutti who won the Rallye de la Sarthe a fortnight after breaking his wrist! A difficult race where nothing was won in advance: new route, new stages… Story !

Saturday 7:30 am: stage 1, morning (+ video)

7:30 am, it’s early: it almost feels like the Dark Dog Moto Tour! But the organizers have no choice, it is the price to pay to include the circuit in the program. So here we are, two by two towards the Bugatti for a rather quiet connection that the regulars of the Rallye de la Sarthe are starting to know well..

On the 24H circuit, the organization is calibrated to the millimeter and the start of the heats is given on time. This year, the Elites open the ball.

At the end of the special, Nick Ayrton does not yet know it but he has just set the best time on his Yamaha R1, 9 tenths ahead of a local rider, Dimitri Toussaint (Triumph 675 Street Triple).

There followed 15 minutes of assistance during which Nicolas Pautet, Team Site rider on the handlebars of his repaired the slight damage caused by his fall on the last lap (see video below). Too bad for him, he was in 9th position of the Elite series before falling…

The link which then leads us to the Courceboeufs special is not signposted and quite technical: the small Sarthois roads are extremely small and the clods of earth left by the tractors are legion … The imposed 60km / h are quite doable without taking excessive risks, but you must not "garden" (take the wrong route). Concentration is permanent, one eye on the road book and another on the road, all without dragging: that’s rallying !

At Courceboeufs, Maxime Mettra announces the color on the handlebars of his KTM 950 Supermoto by setting the best time: 2’13’31! Less than five tenths behind (2’13”79) we find Nicolas Derrien on his Panda Moto BMW F 800 R.

On the other hand, the Yamaha 1100 FJ sidecar of the Lebert / Jeandemange team fell off the road with a violent spin. The pilot Christophe "Bebert" Lebert will get by without too many injuries, but his charming passenger, Sylvie "Gazelle" Jeandemange, is urgently evacuated to the University Hospital of Angers, spine affected … The latest news, she has managed to move a leg this morning. Courage Gazelle, we all think of you !

The road course, still as technical but now signposted, brings us to the midday stage, Ballon. After a 30-minute assistance, the pilots benefit from a two-hour meal break: royal !

Nick Ayrton on the handlebars of his Yamaha R1 slams a time of 2’17”01 at Courceboeufs and still leads the provisional classification of the rally.

On the Team Site side, with 15 seconds behind Nick at Bugatti and 2’15’45 at Courceboeufs, Julien Toniutti is far from thinking of victory but his wrist seems to hold out. Objective: bring back big points for the championship! As for Maxime Mettra, he is even further to imagine the podium given the enormous suitcase of more than 37 seconds he took on the leader of the circuit…

During the break the competitors relax. A funfair takes place near the assistance park: a good way to keep up the attack rather than sink into a nap. !

Marcus HIMSELF – Photos MH and Julien PATALONE

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