Mont-Blanc Rally – Panizzi and Delecour lacking thrills

If they were slightly less popular in the applause meter than their younger brother Sébastien Loeb, Gilles Panizzi (56 years old) and François Delecour (59 years old) still gave the spectators enormous pleasure by being present this week-end. Découvrant en course la Hyundai i20 R5 de l’équipe de Pascal Enjolras, le Mentonnais s’est d’abord montré mécontent de son pilotage. Se reprochant de freiner trop tôt et de trop soulager dans les parties bosselées, l’ancien « tarmac expert » a vécu une matinée frustrante. Le passage à l’assistance lui a permis d’apporter quelques modifications au niveau du train avant afin de le rendre plus incisif. Un peu plus en confiance, ses chronos se sont améliorés, mais Gilles n’était pas complètement convaincu de sa prestation au moment d’achever cette première étape au 15^e rank. “ I know exactly where I'm losing money and why I'm doing it, he smiled. What bothers me is that I stopped for too long and it's not easy to return behind the wheel of a car which is much faster than the WRC that I flew. I will leave tomorrow with the desire to continue this learning. »

Ranked four places behind his teammate at Peugeot Sport, François Delecour gave a contrasting assessment of his day. On the one hand, the northerner took great pleasure in finding his former “partner” after so many years. If the automatisms quickly returned, the potential of his machine did not completely allow him to express himself. A less powerful engine, a rear axle from an earlier generation, a 6-speed gearbox (instead of 7 on Loeb's 306), the father "Brake late" was disappointed at the end of the stage to have suffered the events. “ We couldn't do much, he commented. It's like that. You have to be content with the pleasure of driving in such a car. I know what she is worth and what she is capable of and see the times that Sébastien and Daniel signed It’s quite stunning! » He too will leave this Saturday with the ambition of moving up the rankings, counting on the rain to do so.