Côte Fleurie - And 3 for Cuoq!

Having returned to first place after changing the turbo of his C4 WRC at the end of the first loop of this last stage, Jean-Marie Cuoq registered his name for the third time on the winners list of the Normandy event.

Published on 26/02/2022 à 22:52

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The pass of 3 for Jean-Marie Cuoq © Pics-Motorsport

The atmosphere was tense on Saturday afternoon in Jean-Marie Cuoq's team during the return of the C4 WRC at Deauville-Normandie airport at the end of the first loop. And for good reason, the mechanics had to change the turbo in less than thirty minutes. Mission accomplished.

From then on, the Ardéchois had no more questions to ask and had to recover his 24”5 behind Eric Brunson (Polo GTi R5) over the last six specials. The equation was not simple against the eight-time winner of the rally who had no intention of admitting defeat, despite the performance gap between a WRC and an R5 on dry specials.

Brunson didn't give up, but Cuoq showed a confident face at each stop point which demonstrated his ease at the wheel of the C4 WRC and he regained the lead of the rally in SS 10 with a 5'' lead over the driver of the Polo, just before the last two night stages. In these conditions and with the advantage of the field, Brunson could hope to make “a coup”. The Norman tried everything and lost a minute on a faulty reverse gear after a spin. The match was over and Cuoq only had to perform in the last special before taking the victorious podium at Trouville-sur-Mer.

On his way to score a new podium at the Côte Fleurie after his victory in 2018, Pierre Ragues (Polo GTi R5) punctured a tire coming into a rope in SS 8. “It's my fault,” he admitted. The new president of the Normandy League then had to come back to Christophe Wilt (Polo GTi R5) and Marc Amourette (C3 Rally2). If he managed to catch up on the Polo driver, Ragues was losing his teeth on a Marc Amourette more and more confident with his Rally2, “despite some problems which will have to be analyzed this week. »

Pierre Ragues fails at the foot of the podium © Damien Saunier

For the first time on home soil with the DS 3 R5, Alexis Flambard completed the Top 5.

The Rallye de la Côte Fleurie was also the host of the first round of the Michelin Rally Tour. Eric Brunson scored maximum points in the four-wheel drive classification. In “full attack” mode with his Clio Rally5, Antoine Massé claimed victory in two-wheel drive.

Final ranking of the 51st edition of the Rallye de la Côte Fleurie: