Jeremi Ancian and Thomas Chauffray neck and neck

Prologue for Ancian, SS1 for Chauffray, SS2 for Ancian and in the end a perfect tie within a tenth of a second in SS3!!! Returning to the Béthune service park this evening, the two men are only 7 seconds apart. A gap mainly created by Ancian during the second special in the Vallée de la Ternoise.

The calm before the storm in Béthune © FFSA

Throughout the afternoon the pilots had to face particularly perilous conditions with slippery and tricky roads and waterlogged ropes. Fortunately the winter cold of the last few days had deserted the Hauts de France. In these Dantean conditions, we suspected that the lead in the race would be between experienced drivers. Volkswagen Polo side, Jérémi Ancian, 38 years old, steering wheel Peugeot 2012, undefeated in the Coupe de France for 8 rounds. In the other corner, on Fabia Skoda, the ultra versatile Thomas Chauffray, 37 years old, winner on 2 and 4 wheel drive in 2022. If Jérémi Ancian benefited from a very slightly favorable odds at the start due to his good knowledge of the field, in these conditions very smart who can predict the evolution of the ranking tomorrow.

Behind the two men, a chasm with David Salanon and Mickaël Reydellet both relegated to more than 40 seconds by the leaders. 

Dorian Deslandes, perfectly guided by Léa Pustelnik, successfully entered the track, placing the front bumper of his Peugeot 208 Rally 4 just outside the Top 10.

Sur un terrain bien défavorable aux 2 roues motrices de sa Porsche, Anthony Cosson a fait mieux que se défendre, venant s’intercaler au milieu des Rally2 et FrallyNat à 4 roues motrices. Un grand numéro d’équilibriste pour le pilote au grand coeur et au pied lourd. Le lauréat du Michelin Rally Tour 2021, Raphaël Marry is hot on his heels in the F RGT ranking with his Alpine A110.

Today's performance is to the credit of Florian Fagnen and Franck Plumet who finished 17th at the controls of their small Citroën AX Sport (group F RC5), well placed between the two leading GTs. The spectators were not mistaken, making bib 87 their favorite. 

Florian Fagnen and Franck Plumet © FFSA

Resumption tomorrow from 10:08 a.m. for Ancian and Chauffray with the 13,08 km of La Méroise to whet your appetite. 6 special stages are on the program today to determine the winner of the 2022 French Rally Cup Final.

Program for the second stage – Saturday February 18 

• 08:30 a.m.: Departure second stage – Assistance (40 mins)
• 10:08 a.m.: SS4 – La Méroise 2 – 13,08 km
• 10:46 a.m.: SS5 – La Vallée de la Ternoise 2 – 12,50 km
• 11:54 a.m.: SS6 – La Clarence 1 – 14,72 km
• 14:14 p.m.: Assistance (40 min)
• 15:52 a.m.: SS7 – La Méroise 3 – 13,08 km
• 16:30 a.m.: SS8 – La Vallée de la Ternoise 3 – 12,50 km
• 17:38 a.m.: SS9 – La Clarence 2 – 14,72 km
• 18:23 p.m. – Arrival of the French Rally Cup Final

General Classification after the first stage (©FFSA:

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