Classic
Thierry Boutsen winner of the 2022 Tour Auto
Thierry Boutssen in his Shelby Cobra 289© Peter Auto
His third participation in the Tour Auto was a good one. Came to the historic competition organized by Peter Auto out of curiosity in 2020 on a Porsche 911 2.0 liters, Thierry Boutsen got into the game with a fifth place won on the Côte d'Azur in the summer of 2021.
Returning to its traditional dates at the end of April in 2022, the revival version of the Tour de France Automobile allowed the 64-year-old Belgian to bring back a new trophy to his room rich in three successes in Formula 1 with Williams-Renault.
Associated with Hervé Ordioni, the former pilot ofEndurance took the lead of the Tour Auto in the Competition class from the first special staged on the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans (Sarthe) during the inaugural stage. For the record, it was the first time that Thierry Boutsen set foot on the Sarthoise track again since his participation in “the race of the century” on a Toyota GT-One in 1999 (abandonment).
Thierry Boutsen this year swapped the agile Porsche for an American monster, a Shelby Cobra 289 chassis no. CSX2157 prepared by the Belgian outfit Gipimotor. The Brussels-based team also placed another Shelby on the podium (3rd), that of Damien Kohler and Sylvie Laboisne. But the three-time winner of the event, Raphaël Favaro, almost disrupted the established order with the small Lotus Elan 26R (2nd at 1'10''), more efficient on the special stages on the roads between Paris and Andorra.
Tour Auto 2022 ranking – Competition:
Medhi Casaurang
Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!
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