Fafe qualification: Breen best time, Franceschi 7th

At the end of the first qualifying session of the 2023 ERC championship season, the logic was respected. Craig Breen set the best time. Other favorites like Mads Ostberg 2nd are well placed while the surprise came from the French Mathieu Franceschi 7th of the exercise.

Published on 10/03/2023 à 16:18

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Fafe qualification: Breen best time, Franceschi 7th

Faced with the scale of the field gathered in Fafe for the opening of theERC, the first games were eagerly awaited. Who among the long list of contenders would gain the upper hand?

Over the 3,61 km of the Montin special, the morning runs saw Craig Breen set the best time in 2'14''9. Surprising everyone, Mathieu Franceschi was a remarkable runner-up ahead of two other competitors who were not expected so high, Miklos Csmos and Mikko Heikkilä. Among the favorites, Mads Ostberg was 5^e, Erik Cais 6^e, Hayden Paddon 9^e and Efren Llarena 12^e. Returning to earth after a long absence, Yoann Bonato arrived on 23^e rank while Mathieu Margaillan was 27^e. The important lesson from these runs was the smallness of the gaps, 10 crews staying within 2s.

The qualification scheduled for the beginning of the afternoon looked promising. Breen again set the best time, improving his morning time. This time he was ahead of Mads Ostberg who managed to keep a 0s1 margin on the 3^e, the Pole Mikolaj Marczyk. As the road cleared, drivers who started further away like Georg Linnamäe or Miklos Csomos managed to enter the top 10 where Paddon also appeared (8^e) and Tom Kristensson (9^e). The surprise once again came from Franceschi who confirmed the impression of the morning. A moment 3^e, the Frenchman was gradually pushed back 7^e, which is still remarkable given the level of the plateau. For his part, Bonato finished this session at 21^e rank and Margaillan at 31^e.

After choosing their starting order, the competitors will prepare for the first special which would take place from 22:05 p.m. this evening.

Qualification

1.	#3	Breen Craig – Fulton James	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	2:13.769
2.	#5	Østberg Mads – Barth Patrik	Citroën C3 Rally2	2:14.456
3.	#29	Marczyk M. – Gospodarczyk S.	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:14.510
4.	#38	Heikkilä Mikko – Vaaleri Samu	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:14.532
5.	#24	Linnamäe Georg – Morgan James	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:14.887
6.	#31	Csomós Miklós – Nagy Attila	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:15.011
7.	#19	Franceschi M. – Escartefigue J.	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:15.375
8.	#2	Paddon Hayden – Kennard John	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:15.408
9.	#4	Kristensson Tom – Johansson A.	Citroën C3 Rally2	2:15.754
10.	#35	Sousa Bernardo – Veiga Inês	Citroën C3 Rally2	2:16.477
11.	#18	McErlean Josh – Hoy Brian	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:16.595
12.	#15	Sesks Mārtiņš – Francis R.	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:16.916
13.	#12	Araújo Armindo – Ramalho Luís	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:17.002
14.	#25	Virves Robert – Magalhães Hugo	Ford Fiesta Rally2	2:17.018
15.	#34	Teodósio Ricardo – Teixeira J.	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:17.260
16.	#9	Campedelli Simone – Canton Tania	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:17.360
17.	#20	Cais Erik – Bacigál Igor	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:17.537
18.	#33	Tidemand Pontus – Thulin Julia	Ford Fiesta Rally2	2:17.577
19.	#1	Llarena Efrén – Fernández Sara	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:17.700
20.	#36	Mabellini Andrea – Lenzi Virginia	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:17.961
21.	#7	Bonato Yoann – Boulloud Benjamin	Citroën C3 Rally2	2:18.149
22.	#10	Battistolli A. – Scattolin S.	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:18.213
23.	#32	Zaldivar F. – Der Ohannesian M.	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:18.732
24.	#16	Mareš Filip – Bucha Radovan	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:19.339
25.	#8	Tempestini Simone – Itu Sergiu	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:19.548
26.	#27	Correia Miguel – Carvalho J.	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:19.582
27.	#22	Allen Philip – Bowen Dale	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:19.730
28.	#11	Wagner Simon – Winter Gerald	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:20.442
29.	#28	Nucita Andrea – By Guio Elia	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:21.016
30.	#14	Fontes José Pedro – Ponte Inês	Citroën C3 Rally2	2:21.426
31.	#45	Margaillan M. – Margaillan M.	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:21.996