Yoann Bonato wins at the Heart of France

Third victory in three rallies contested in 2020 in the French Championship, fourth consecutive victory in Vendôme (Loir-et-Cher), Yoann Bonato (Citroën C3 R5 – CHL Sport Auto) continues its superb series this year on the national asphalt.

The double French champion was able to avoid the pitfalls of a second stage made complicated by the rain this Sunday, notably by carrying out a judicious change of tires between SS8 and 9, switching to two rain tires which allowed him to dig deeper. one stroke away from Quentin Gilbert (Citroën C3 R5 – TM Compétition).

With almost a 19″ lead, Bonato was then able to control the end of the race, finishing with a 7″9 margin over Gilbert, second again after an identical result at Mont-Blanc. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi (Citroën C3 R5 – PH Sport) completes the podium, his first at this level on asphalt, he who dominates the Gravel section of the championship.

The official Citroën driver was able to take advantage of the setbacks of Quentin Giordano (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 – Sarrazin Motorsport), who had been third for a long time but made a mistake this morning in SS10 and was forced to retire.

Pierre Roché (Citroën C3 R5 – Team FJ) and Thibault Habouzit (Citroën C3 R5 – PH Sport) enter the top 5 ahead of William Wagner (Citroën C3 R5 – PH Sport) for a sextuplet of C3 R5s.

Cruel disillusionment for Thomas Chauffray in the Clio Trophy, since the leader of the event since almost the start of the race, lost a wheel in the final special and let Anthony Fotia win ahead of Guillaume Canivenq.

Success in the French Junior Championship for Florent Todeschini ahead of Léo Rossel and Romain Durand.

Ranking Rally Heart of France 2020:

1.Bonato/Boulloud (Citroën C3 R5, Team CHL Sport Auto) in 1h42m36s4

2.Gilbert/Guieu (Citroën C3 R5) + 7s9

3.Franceschi/Haut-Labourdette (Citroën C3 R5, Team PH Sport – GT2i) + 1m15s8

4.Roché/Roché (Citroën C3 R5, Team FJ) + 2m44s8

5.Habouzit/Declerck (Citroën C3 R5, Team PH Sport GT2i) + 3m20s5

6.Wagner/Millet (Citroën C3 R5, Team PH Sport GT2i) + 3m57s5

7.Mauffrey/Bronner (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo) + 4m09s8

8.Guigou/Coria (Alpine A110 RGT16) + 4m39s3

9.Rouillard/Gamboni (Skoda Fabia R5) + 5m00s4

10.Robert/Duval (Alpine A110 RGT16) + 5m52s9…

Discover the full report of the Rallye Coeur de France, produced by our special correspondent in Vendôme, in issue 2280 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.