Rhône-Charbonnières Rally – SS7: Raphaël Astier and Denis Giraudet gain ground

9,3 seconds separated Yoann Bonato – Benjamin Boulloud (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) and Raphaël Astier – Denis Giraudet (Porsche 992 GT+) at the end of the first stage of the rallyThe gap is now down to just 6,5 seconds! On this first special stage of the day, a distance of 11,52 kilometers, Raphaël Astier and Denis Giraudet set the fastest time, ahead of Hugo Margaillan and Mathieu Coppa (+2,7) and Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud (+2,8). This is the shortest stage of the day, as in the next few minutes, the competitors will start the grueling 23,86-kilometer Meaux-la-Montagne stage, the longest of the rally, followed by the 21,02-kilometer Claveisolles stage. It's also worth noting that this second leg of the Rhône-Charbonnières Rally takes place in the Beaujolais region, near Marchampt.

But these roads today are also, and above all, potentially more suited to the Porsche than to the Rally2 cars. Nevertheless, the Ardèche driver had everything to learn on this opening stage of the day: Since we hadn't done it last year, there were a few moments of hesitation. But the grip was definitely better here than what we saw yesterday. "The driver of the Porsche 992 GT+ thus made the most of the early part of the day, recovering 2,5 seconds on the time lost to Yoann Bonato." The grip isn't too bad, but I hurt my finger downshifting. "However, the six-time French Rally Champion informed us.

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In the same vein as the two men, Hugo Margaillan and Mathieu Coppa (Hyundai i20N Rally2) also set a great time, just one tenth of a second behind Bonato – Boulloud, and were thus credited with the second fastest time in the timed sector: “ The driving experience was great, we had a fantastic time here "The former French Junior Rally Champion stated. Overall, the driver from the Var region (3rd) is now 7,2 seconds behind his teammate Raphaël Astier. Following them in the standings for this special stage are Réhane Gany – Franck Le Floch (Hyundai i20N Rally2) with the 4th fastest time and Lucas Darmezin – Charlyne Quartini (Hyundai i20N Rally2) in 5th. The next special stage of the rally will begin at 09:10 AM."

CFR – Rhône-Charbonnières Rally
The classification of SS7

The general classification after SS7