Yoann Bonato wards off fate in Occitania

With three retirements and one victory under his belt this season, Yoann Bonato was quite pragmatic on the eve of the start: “ The championship took a different turn. I won the Rally of Antibes (May 19-22) for the first time, I will perhaps return to victory in Rodez ". For Quentin Giordano, the leader of the Championship and Nicolas Ciamin, still in the running for the title, the situation is different. Both want to score big points by beating, if possible, their main opponent.

The tone is set from the outset with deviations to the second, or even the tenth. The first impressions of the drivers demonstrate their desire to set off at a sustained pace. “I almost went out twice, we got hot! » declared Bonato after his scratch for 0”1 ahead of Giordano. First leader of the rally, Bonato will contain the pressure from his rivals by signing stage wins at key moments, such as in the demanding stages of Nayrac (SS2 and SS4) and Moyrazes (SS9).

BONATO Yoann, BOULLOUD Benjamin, Citroën C3 © Damien Saulnier / DPPI

Dominant from start to finish, Yoann Bonato savors his 26th victory in the French Championship, an important success for the C3 Rally2 driver: « Honnêtement, je pensais que ma saison allait s’arrêter après mon abandon dans les Vosges (9-11 juin), mes partenaires sont restés mobilisés pour ce rallye et cette victoire est la meilleure manière de les remercier, ainsi que nos ouvreurs qui ont très bien travaillé. Je suis resté en tête de la première à la dernière spéciale, mais j’ai dû vraiment rouler à bloc pour gagner. C’était impossible de gé