Franco-European summit in Saint-Jean-du-Gard

The scent of a big meeting reigned last Friday in the picturesque Gard village of Saint-Jean-du-Gard. After three years of absence due to the pandemic, the European Mountain Championship set up shop there for the first round of its season, in parallel with the 2^e stage of the national campaign. Several French drivers responded to the call launched by the organizers to register for both rounds, the objective being to potentially increase the amount of their finishing bonuses, but also to show themselves at the highest level. Thus, we saw Billy Ritchen, Ronald Garcès and the brothers Marc and Etienne Pernot appear on the list of European entrants. Added to this beautiful crowd were Sébastien Petit, now accustomed to continental competitions, and Christian Merli, reigning European champion and recent winner of the FIA ​​Hillclimb Masters, held in October in Portugal. The party was sumptuous. Merli flew without qualms over Category 2 reserved for open cars, the equivalent of the French Sport Category, while setting the new absolute record for the track. Karl Schagerl imitated him in Category 1 on his Volkswagen Golf with more than 700 horsepower.

Fresh start in testing

Finding a route such as that of the Col Saint-Pierre, after three years without having set wheels there, is already quite a challenge. Cool and sunny weather awaited the competitors on Saturday in Saint-Jean-du-Gard, making these first ascents even more delicate. In the Production category, Paul Reutter established the reference mark on the first climb of the day. Three seconds separated him from Ronald Garcès, still in full development of his Lamborghini Huracán Supertrofeo, Yannick Poinsignon on his BMW M3 E92 was relegated to 4”. In the Sport category, Damien Chambérod missed his start at the start and was credited with a time well below the capabilities of the man and his equipment. The experienced Sébastien Petit took the opportunity to take control, ahead of Billy Ritchen and Cyrille Frantz. This hierarchy would evolve as the mercury rose: at the end of the day's two test climbs, Damien Chambérod and Yannick Poinsignon took back control of their respective categories, enough to perfectly launch the hostilities for the first race climb contested on Saturday evening.

Yannick Poinsignon regains victory in Saint-Jean-du-Gard © Nicolas Millet

This will be cruel for certain protagonists of the CFM: Mathieu Nouet made a mistake due to a mechanical breakdown on his Simca Rally III. In the running for victory in Group FC, the Norman had to stop there given the extent of the damage. Then, Cindy Gudet suffered a mechanical problem on her Revolt 2P0, after hitting the rail during a test climb. We will have to wait until Sunday morning in Saint-Jean-du-Gard to officially learn the package of the reigning French Mountain Champion. Author of a climb that could be improved, Damien Chambérod left the controls to Billy Ritchen and his Nova Proto NP01 V8, leader of the championship after his victory at Bagnols-Sabran. And as in the Gard, Sébastien Petit was responsible for taking the 3^e position. In the clan of closed cars, Poinsignon hit the nail on the head against Ronald Garcès and Paul Reutter, while Francis Dosières used his experience to take 4^e position of the general at the wheel of his Alpine A110 GT4.

Suspense on all levels

If the struggles at the front attracted all the attention, all the groups and classes were subject to battles during the last two climbs. In the group F2000, we had to wait for the last climb to discover the name of the runner-up of the stage local Enzo Lombardi; Stéphan Rouveirolles styled Jean-Pierre Métivier's hair. In Group N, Sébastien Lemaire and Alexandre Granier proved untouchable. In Group A, if Nicolas Granier thought he had done the hardest at the end of the 2^e climb of the race, it was without counting on Sarah Bernard who, in a hurry, regained power in her Seat Leon Supercopa MK3. Victim of mechanical damage on the first climb of the day, Christophe Poinsignon had to make one last attempt without errors, at the risk of not appearing on the race lists: it was done with, as a bonus, the new track record for Groupe FC. On the side of Formula 3, Thomas Clausi enjoyed a prestigious success, while also having played in the European round of the weekend.

Work still awaits Ronald Garcès to develop his new car © Nicolas Millet

Yannick Poinsignon and Billy Ritchen, for their part, did not tremble to win again in the general. The first named found the path to victory he was looking for since Vuillafans-Échevannes (Doubs) last year: “ It’s a great satisfaction for me to win here, he expressed upon arrival. I completed 2^e behind Ronald (Garcès) at Bagnols-Sabran, this time I won in front of him: we reset the counters to zero at championship level », admitted the winner of the day. For Ritchen, it’s a second career victory in just seven days, enough to end a completely crazy week: “ I still haven't recovered from my victory at Bagnols-Sabran, I can't realize that I'm winning tonight. It's incredible !, assured the Alsatian, still in shock. Some of our competitors are not yet alongside us, but we set very good times with Damien (Chambérod) and we have nothing to be ashamed of these performances. », assured the one who also achieved victory in the E2SC “Europe” Group in Saint-Jean-du-Gard. If the temporary absence of Geoffrey Schatz and Fabien Bourgeon is a subject of discussion within the paddock, no one can denigrate the quality of the clashes seen this season.

A promising sequel

Three weeks of break now await the CFM drivers before the next meeting, the Race de Côte d'Abreschviller – Saint-Quirin (Moselle, April 30-1^er mai). En catégorie Sport, Billy Ritchen semble avoir le vent dans le dos, mais Damien Chambérod ne se laissera pas distancer. Fabien Bourgeon pourrait en profiter pour y débuter sa saison, alors que l’incertitude plane toujours sur la date à laquelle Geoffrey Schatz fera son retour. Cyrille Frantz et Kevin Petit auront eux aussi de belles cartes à abattre sur ce tracé court et rapide, tandis que Sébastien Petit devrait y faire débuter une toute nouvelle Nova Proto NP01 2 roues motrices à moteur 1.7 Turbo. Maxime Cotleur, quant à lui, reste dans l’attente de la finalisation de sa Norma M20FC E2SC Turbo. En catégorie Production, Ronald Garcès a encore du travail à mener pour extraire toute la quintessence de sa nouvelle arme, et Yannick Poinsignon semble avoir enfin retrouvé de la sérénité à Saint-Jean-du-Gard. Paul Reutter cherche encore ses marques au volant de sa Porsche 991 Cup, mais sera rapidement dans le match. Quoi qu’il en soit, les prochaines échéances risquent d’apporter encore de nouvelles réponses, alors qu’une hiérarchie claire peine à se dessiner…

The learning continues for Cindy Gudet, not without some pitfalls… © Nicolas Millet

General classification

Saint-Jean-du-Gard Col Saint-Pierre. April 9-10. Round 2/13

Sports (France): 1. B. Ritchen (Nova Proto NP01 V8) in 4'35''033 (1^er E2SC), 2. D. Chambérod (Norma M20FC Turbo) in 4'37''508, 3. S. Petit (Nova Proto NP01 V8) in 4'41''594, 4. K. Petit (Norma M20FC CN+) in 4'43''101 (1^er CN), 5. C. Frantz (Osella PA30 T) in 4'43''459..., 8. M. Pernot (Tatuus Formula Master) in 4'50''525 (1^erDE) …, 24. A. Petit (Nova Proto NP03) in 5'10''208 (1^er – 25 years old), etc. Best climb (France) : Ritchen 2'17''150. Best climb (Europe): Merli 2'13''459

Production (France): 1. Y. Poinsignon (BMW M3 E92) in 5'27''521 (1^er GTTS), 2. R. Garcès (Lamborghini Huracan Supertrofeo) in 5'30''877, 3. P. Reutter (Porsche 991.2 Cup) in 5'37''272, 4. P. Béal (Volvo TC10 S60) in 5'41''311, 5. F. Dosières (Alpine A110 GT4) in 5'41''317 (1^er GT Sport), 6. S. Bernard (Seat Leon Supercopa MK3) in 5'44''964 (1^er Group A and 1st women) …, 9. C. Poinsignon (Simca CG Turbo) in 5'45''546 (1^er FC) …, 18. S. Lemaire (BMW M3 E36) in 5'59''986 (1^er Group N) …, 23. E. Lombardi (Citroën AX Sport) in 6'10''381 (1^er – 25 years old), etc. Best climb (France) : Poinsignon 2'43''651. Best climb (Europe) : Schagerl 2'41''373