Rhône-Charbonnières Rally – SS9: Status quo between Bonato and Astier!

21,02 kilometers had to be covered in this ninth special stage of the Rally Rhône-Charbonnières, and yet: despite this, Yoann Bonato – Benjamin Boulloud (Lacia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) and Raphaël Astier – Denis Giraudet (Porsche The 992 GT+ cars neutralized each other despite the differences in design and regulations of their respective vehicles, a testament to the incredible commitment shown by both crews in this second round of the French Asphalt Rally Championship. Indeed, by setting a time of 10'56.9, the two crews achieved a joint fastest time in this special stage, and the six-time French Rally Champions still hold a 6,9-second lead over their closest rivals at the end of the first loop of this second leg.

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Seven seconds behind the two crews mentioned previously, Hugo Margaillan – Mathieu Coppa (Hyundai The i20N Rally2 drivers continued their momentum, setting the third fastest time on the special stage. At the mid-morning break, the pair maintained their third position in the provisional overall standings, 16,1 seconds behind Raphaël Astier and Denis Giraudet, and 23 seconds behind the leading duo. As was the case earlier this morning, Réhane Gany and Franck Le Floch secured the fourth-best time on the ninth timed sector, ahead of Lucas Darmezin and Charlyne Quartini, both crews competing in Hyundai i20N Rally2s. Also of note, Ghislain Barbier and Yoann Bouchet (Porsche 992 GT+) gained a position in the overall standings, moving up to sixth place, overtaking Benjamin and Florence Striling (Citroën C3 Rally2), who are now seventh, 6,8 seconds behind their rivals.

Another racing incident was the trouble Ludovic Godard – Alexis Maillefert encountered in this special stage (Alpine A110 GT+): Jonathan Hirschi – Mélanie Tendille (Citroën C3 Rally2) made a good move and overtook the two men previously mentioned, as well as Eric Rousset – Christophe Sauce (Citroën C4 WRC).

CFR – Rhône-Charbonnières Rally
The classification of SS9

The general classification after SS9