Rally France – Sarrazin in sadness

The competitors in the fifth round of the French Rally Championship, contested on the roads of Mont-Blanc? Morzine (Haute-Savoie), no longer have the heart to race. The ordeal was mourned by the tragic accident of Frédéric Comte in the second special. The Citroën Xsara n°5 went off the road and the Haute-Savoie pilot died instantly. His companion and co-pilot Angélique Comte was transported to Thonon hospital.

At the request of the family of Frédéric Comte and his team, most of the competitors (except in particular Julien Maurin, reigning French champion) finally left for two special stages following the tragedy. At the end of the last ES, it is Stéphane Sarrazin (Ford Fiesta) who took command of the rally just over eight seconds ahead of Lionel Baud (Ford Fiesta).

Third at 27 seconds, Jean-Marie Cuoq (Citroën C4) precedes the two Porsche 911 GT+ by Jérôme Chavanne and Patrick Rouillard. Pierre Roché (Ford Fiesta) climbs to sixth place, ahead of the Peugeot 208 T16 from Yoann Bonato, who leads the R5 category.

Six stages are on the program for the second day tomorrow.