Rhône-Charbonnières Rally – SS4: Astier sets the fastest time again, but Bonato retains the lead

The second loop of the afternoon began as the morning had started: with Raphaël Astier and Denis Giraudet leading the special stage. On the 20,51 kilometers of Bibost – Montrottier – Brullioles, already used in SS1, the Porsche The No. 3 992 GT+ set the fastest time of 10:48.0, averaging 113,9 km/h, nearly 8 km/h faster than its first run this morning. The roads dried out, the pace picked up, and Astier delivered. "The grip still isn't great, which is a shame. Towards the end, we had an extra drift that got worse because of the tire, I imagine, but otherwise it was good.", the Ardèche pilot confided at the stop point.

But as in SS3, Astier's fastest stage time wasn't enough to propel him to the overall lead. Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud, second in SS4 with a time of 10:49.9, just 1,9 seconds behind, maintain their overall lead with a cumulative time of 33:55.5. The Lancia Ypsilon HF is displaying remarkable consistency, conceding only a few seconds to the Porsche on each stage while preserving its overall advantage.

"There were some areas that were a bit slippery due to the tar, but overall it's okay, it hasn't melted too much." analysis by Yoann Bonato. "It's softened up a bit, but it's okay, because our weather forecasters gave us accurate information. We're not improving as much as we would have liked, but it's not a big deal, it's not bad."

Bonato still in the lead

Nothing is won yet for the defending champion: Astier trails by 2,1 seconds overall — an even smaller gap than after SS3. Hugo Margaillan and Mathieu Coppa, third in the stage with a time of 10:53.7, 5,7 seconds behind Astier, see their deficit to Bonato widen slightly overall. Hyundai The i20 is now 10,2 seconds behind the leader, compared to 6,4 seconds after SS3. The CHL Sport Auto duo remains in contention, but the pressure is mounting.

Behind the leading trio, the standings saw some adjustments. Réhane Gany and Franck Le Floch (Hyundai i20 #6) set the fourth fastest time on the stage with a time of 11:02.5 and consolidated their fourth place overall, 37,2 seconds behind. Lucas Darmezin and Charlyne Quartini (#5) finished fifth on the stage with a time of 11:07.6 and remain fifth overall, 52,9 seconds behind.

With only 2,1 seconds separating Bonato and Astier in the overall standings, and two more special stages on the program this Friday, the Rally The Rhône-Charbonnières 2026 rally is still undecided. The duel between the Lancia and the Porsche promises to be thrilling right to the finish. Margaillan, 10 seconds behind, is also still in contention for the win: a mistake by either of the leaders could change everything. The action continues at Montrottier – Saint-Forgeux – Saint-Romain-de-Popey (SS5, 15:25 PM).

CFR – Rhône-Charbonnières Rally
The classification of SS4

The general classification