An extraordinary outcome at the Morocco Historic Rally

Incredible drama at the end of the last stage of the Morocco Historic Rally, which ended Saturday evening in Agadir after seven stages. Like last year when he benefited from the abandonment of Grégoire de Mévius in the antepenultimate special, Bernard Barrile (Talbot Lotus) inherited the victory following the abandonment of Philippe Gache two km from the finish of the last special.

Leader for three days after the withdrawal of the BMA team following the death of one of its drivers Gérard Brianti, Philippe Gache took no risks, having more than three minutes ahead of Barrile. But in a few seconds, the boss-driver of the SMG team saw his week-long efforts wiped out by the rupture of the rear axle of his Mazda RX7.

“When I saw Philippe stopped in the special, I started to cry thinking of his disappointment,” said the winner., Bernard Barrile, completely overwhelmed by contradictory emotions. This year, we had to manage our race well against an exceptional field. Little by little I gained confidence in myself and gained strength. During the penultimate stage, I gave myself a big scare when I hit a small bridge, which I took as a warning! And finally, this Saturday, it’s just happiness…”