Road rallies – Rallye de la Sarthe: victory for the ” Tourist Toniutti ”! – Saturday: day stage

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Rallye de la Sarthe: victory for the “ Tourist Toniutti ” !

Road rallies - Rallye de la Sarthe: victory for the '' Tourist Toniutti ''! - Saturday: day stage

Julien Toniutti, reigning French champion, had other ambitions this year, but he could not help but come and participate in this Rallye de la Sarthe for fun … And one more victory for the driver Yamaha ! Story.

Saturday: day stage

The atmosphere is humid, it rained last night, it’s cold: for a bit, it almost feels like the Sarthe rally! But that does not prevent the race from being launched, the leader of the championship Christophe Velardi in the lead on his Ducati 1200 Multistrada of Ducati Moto Prestige Ajaccio.

The departures of the 129 starting competitors this morning are linked for this first large 178 km loop which will take the three stages of the course in reconnaissance mode, that is to say without being timed..

The Amne en Champagne special is already known to the oldest. It is fast and has a rather clean coating compared to the other two timed sectors.

Indeed, if Coulans sur Gee has a very fast section with a sound surface, this is not the case for its last relatively "dirty" section, like its first hundreds of meters. Domfront in Champagne, it is very contaminated: the race management shortened it by more than 1.5 km out of the 3.3 km it was originally supposed to do, but the remaining section is not much cleaner…

These specials are likely to favor monos, small engines and not favor the big cavalry. !

The road course is also very rally-type! Many changes of direction, varied routes, all to be followed by a precise and well-executed road book: only fun !

Once we have passed through the three specials, we are back in Coulans sur Gee for our first stop. We will quickly get an idea of ​​the hierarchy on these Sarthe roads. For the moment it’s relatively dry on the asphalt, that’s always it !

Two pilots start the ball rolling by slamming precisely the same time! This is the excellent Aprilia 1100 Tuono n ° 5 pilot Bruno Schiltz and Yamaha official Julien Toniutti riding his 450 YZF from team 2B / Moraco, both in 1’19, 14! A little more than six tenths of a second later we find Benoit Nimis (Yamaha MT09) in third position in 1’19.77. Direction Domfront in Champagne now, for its first timed passage. There, the reigning French champion (in tourist mode …) won the tassel by offering himself the best time: 1’13.92 for the Yamaha 450 YZF team 2B / Moraco of Julien Toniutti. He is followed by the still astonishing Maxime Mettra at the controls of his kawasaki 650 Versys in the colors of Team Helit Motos – challenge 24 which shows 1’15.24. Third time for Bruno Schiltz (Aprilia 1100 Tuono, Team Kiwi helmets) in 1’15.51.

Return to Coulans en Champagne for a second stopover. This time, Bruno Schiltz wins on the handlebars of his Aprilia 1100 Tuono in 1’18.72, two hundredths ahead of his partner of the first pass Julien Toniutti (Yamaha 450 YZF 2B / Moraco) who obtains here a time of 1’18, 74. Third time for Benoit Nimis the metronome, riding his Yamaha MT09 (1’19.16). The times are very tight ahead and Ajaccian rider Christophe Velardi on his Ducati 1200 Multistrada is also less than a second behind the first, but in fourth position in 1’19.69.

The first places are monopolized by the Mono and SW-Motech Roadster categories. We will also note good performances in almost all categories, of which we will find at least one representative of each of them in the first 20 places of these first three specials. !

As with the scooterists, with a 14th scratch time at Domfront for the Yamaha 530 TMax of Fabien Assemat less than 6 seconds from the fastest time (18th time for the Honda Integra of Mathieu Bruneau), the Classics were not to be outdone with a 12th time in Coulans for the antique Suzuki 1000 GSXR by Nick Ayrton.

As for the sidecars, it’s no joke either: the Norbert Jacob / Franck Bacon crew at the controls of their Suzuki 1300 Hayabusa Choda team has secured a thirteenth fastest time at Domfront. Congratulations also to our Topsport of the Rally Moto Racing team Laurent Guinot, who monopolizes the 10th time in each of these first three times on the handlebars of his Aprilia 1000 RSV4…

Following this third time, the road book takes us back to Suze sur Sarthe in around forty kilometers for the end of the first loop. An hour and a half break is then granted to us for assistance. Only negative point in the table: the ambient cold and this small irregular drizzle which may well end up really wet the road…

It was precisely 1:51 p.m. when the first rider, Christophe Velardi, set off on the handlebars of his Ducati 1200 Multistrada for the second loop of the day. The Sarthois organization is impeccable and everything is going as on the plan.

But that’s it, the road is wet and the lap times will certainly suffer … A new head (in rally …) emerges from the number on the first passage through Coulans sur Gee of this second lap: Jonathan Jodeau (Honda 450 CRM HM) set the best time in 1’26.40. This former prestige rider in the French Supermotard championships ten years ago does not cut corners and leads his mono masterfully, especially when things are slippery !

But our passing "tourist", Julien Tonuitti, did not give way and got the second fastest time, 55 hundredths behind Jonathan in 1’26.95. Bruno Schiltz is also less than a second behind the first and takes the third time in 1’27.10.

For my part, I am cold … I am frozen and I tremble everywhere! That said, I wonder if it is due to the ambient temperature or to the soaked character of the super machine that I am driving for this rally … Indeed, the KTM 990 Superduke lent by my friend Francis Mathieu is not a dirt bike! Something crazy, this machine! It does not accelerate, it propels! Not to mention this super rigid but super manoeuvrable cycle part, with sick braking and top suspensions…

This bike (model year 2009) had been prepared by 2R Team, the exact copy of Julien Toniutti’s ex-Superduke during his KTM years, including in terms of cartography … I’ll have to have a little more of physical condition to keep rolling with that – I feel like I have dancer’s arms! -, but what a foot !

We are back at Domfront en Champagne, the second stop in this special. The road is still wet. Julien Toniutti does not intend to be stolen from the spotlight by a new kid and slaps the best time on the handlebars of his Yamaha 450 YZF from team 2B / Moraco in 1’20.48.

Second pendulum once again for the Kawasaki 650 Versys of the Helit Motos – Challenge 24 team, driven by Maxime Mettra (1’21.23). The third fastest time goes to Jonathan Jodeau riding his Honda 450 CRM HM.

During the road, we pass the Amne en Champagne special, but this will only be timed during the night stage. These "blank" daytime passages allow good recognition … But the turns and contours imposed by the road-book are not obvious to everyone, even to a local child as demonstrated by Nicolas Derrien at the controls of his Suzuki 400 DRZ, going to "garden" for about twenty kilometers … Caught up by his traveling companion Jonathan Jodeau, the two friends will arrive at the CH (time control) of Amne en Champagne to check in on time ! Then the course resumes.

Coulans sur Gee, fourth stop in time since this morning, the road is now partially drying. Bruno Schiltz imposes his Aprilia 1100 Tuono of the Kiwi Helmets team in 1’17.35 ahead of the second fastest time which goes to the leader of the provisional championship, Christophe Velardi who plays safety in 1’19.13. Julien Toniutti is third 6 hundredths behind in 1’19.19.

Return to the Suze sur Sarthe for the arrival of the day stage, validated when passing the podium in front of the church.

At the end of this first stage, Julien Toniutti is in the lead. Overall, he is more than 7.5 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Bruno Schiltz, who nevertheless had a very good race. Maxime Mettra is in third position, just over a second behind Bruno … It will heat up tonight !

Marcus HIMSELF

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