Contrasted results for the French at the end of the first day in Fafe

From rally of Fafe, the first round of the championship ERC 2023, Mathieu Franceschi and Yoann Bonato were in diametrically opposed states of mind. The younger of the two was coming off a season full of victories on gravel, while his eldest had not set wheels on it for more than 8 months. This difference was evident during the shakedown and the qualifying stage. While Franceschi set remarkable times given his limited experience at this level, Bonato was more in search of his sensations. The start of the race confirmed this observation.

As is almost always the case when the ERC arrives in the Fafe region of northern Portugal, competitors were faced with terrible weather with fog and rain that turned the dirt into very slippery mud. Cautious on the cobbles of Fafe on Friday evening with a C3 not at all in asphalt configuration, the four-time French champion adopted the same strategy during the first kilometers on gravel. Constantly remaining in the top 15, the rider from Isère saw his ranking improve with the events of the race. 11^e of SS6, Bonato received a fixed time in SS7 and he completed this grueling stage in 9^e rank. The latter will have to be vigilant, because the 4 crews behind him are grouped together in less than 20 seconds.

Surprisingly the day before, Mathieu Franceschi passed through all the states during the Saturday. Author of a mistake in the first SS of the day, the driver from Fayence (83) then made up for it superbly with an 8^e and 9^e time which allowed him to rise to 8^e general's place. 9^e after SS6, he suffered an alert regarding the water temperature in the final, contested section. The 2'12'' conceded weighed heavily while several of his rivals received a fixed time. If the 2022 French dirt champion leaves tomorrow, he will tackle a great comeback from 22^e position.

Also lined up in a Fabia Rally2, Mathieu Margaillan had a very consistent day. Progressing from 33^e the 18^e rank, he finds himself in a “sandwich” between Simon Wagner and Alberto Battistolli, two ERC regulars.

Among the other Tricolores who made the trip, Pierre Ragues first led the Rally3 category before being overtaken by Jon Armstrong. Ragues is currently 39^e. Several French people let themselves be tempted by the adventure. At the end of this stage, Jean-Michel Raoux is 46^e, Pierre Lafay 54^e, Jonathan Rieu 69^e and Manu Gascou gave up.

The second day of the Rally Serras de Fafe includes 84,28 km timed divided into 8 special stages.