French Hill Climb Championship: And now, let's head west!

Three rounds of the French Hill Climb Championship have already been held this season. After Bagnols-Sabran (Gard), Saint-Jean-du-Gard – Col Saint-Pierre (Gard), and Abreschviller – Saint-Quirin (Moselle), three more events, this time in western France, are on the schedule: the Teurses d'Hébécrevon – Agneaux Hill Climb (Manche) this weekend, the La Pommeraye Hill Climb (Maine-et-Loire) on May 16 and 17, and the Saint-Gouéno Hill Climb (Côtes d'Armor) on May 30 and 31. This three-part series, which regular participants in the discipline like to call the "Western Tour," is actually much more than just a series of races. Indeed, after these three consecutive trips, which require considerable logistical planning for drivers who are often amateurs with limited financial resources, the halfway point of the season will be reached, and it will already be time to take stock. More conventional events, such as the hill climbs at Marchampt in Beaujolais, Vuillafans-Échevannes, and Dunières Auvergne, will be worth watching.

In the Sport category, Marc Pernot is already shaking all the records of the French Hill Climb Championship

However, some lessons have already been learned from these first races. In the Sport category, Marc Pernot (Nova Proto NP01 Turbo) is currently well on his way to a third consecutive title, even though the Col Saint-Pierre climb eluded him due to mechanical issues and a race scenario that eliminated the final standings of a third run, which would have shifted the classification to a cumulative ranking based on the two best times achieved. Despite this setback, the partnership he forms with his new car, equipped with a less powerful but significantly lighter 1.2 Turbo engine than those of his rivals, is currently enjoying considerable success. Having won at Bagnols-Sabran and Abreschviller – Saint-Quirin, and having set a new course record for the latter, as he did on the Corniche des Cévennes, he will now be difficult to unseat. However, Fabien Bourgeon (Revolt 3P0), mathematical winner at Saint-Jean-du-Gard behind Kévin Petit (Nova Proto NP01 Turbo), will not miss the slightest opportunity to steal some trophies from him, as will Maxime Dojat (Nova Proto NP01 Turbo) or the Belgian Corentin Starck (Nova Proto NP01 Turbo).

ALSO READ > Victories for Marc Pernot and Anthony Dubois at the Bagnols-Sabran Hill Climb

A highly contested French Hill Climb Production Championship

In the Production category, for closed-cockpit cars, the situation is a bit more complex. Last year, the championship resulted in an unprecedented battle between all the competitors in the discipline, ultimately won by Anthony Dubois. This season, the driver of theAlpine The A110 Evo will miss several races, and the field has already been decimated by Yannick Poinsignon's (BMW M3 E92) serious off-track excursion at Bagnols-Sabran, which will keep him sidelined for several more months. The pecking order has therefore been completely shaken up, and for the moment, Alexandre Garnier (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) which leads the championship, the young driver from Haute-Saône having achieved three consecutive podium finishes and demonstrated impressive consistency. However, three different winners have taken their turns in as many races: Anthony Dubois at Bagnols-Sabran, Ronald Garcès (Porsche 992 GT3 Cup) at Saint-Jean-du-Gard, and Jean-François Ganevat (Renault RS01) in Abreschviller – Saint-Quirin. Only 17 points separate the four men mentioned as the season continues: only a crystal ball could predict the outcome of this very unpredictable match…