De Sousa before the gong at the Saintonge Rally

While De Sousa showed his pretensions from the start, Millet and Taveneau remained on his heels, while Faucher had already surrendered his notebook (oil pressure) and Longépé was faced with a lack of power. After the 1^re loop, De Sousa had a 6” lead over Taveneau, 8” over Millet and 17” over Longépé. On 306 Maxi, André and Terrière were neck and neck in group A, Guenec kept Lacouture at bay in F2000, Patier found himself alone in GT after the abandonment of Gelusseau, and Ulbert reigned supreme in group N. In the 2^e loop, Millet went on the offensive, dislodging Taveneau to get back to 3”8 behind the leader. In the 3^e, Millet kept up the pressure but De Sousa responded while Taveneau tripped over the mat, losing 19” and any chance of victory. Longépé then took a free ride, just like Patier in GT who remained behind. In F2000, Lacouture gave in, leaving Guénec to win. In what would be the last loop – the last 3 SS, including 1 at night which could not be contested due to unruly spectators – De Sousa managed to maintain 1”9 on Millet to win. Taveneau secured the podium when Terrière, suffering from engine failures, offered the A7K to André. Ulbert remained untouchable in group N. G. Coëffe

Ranking: 1. De Sousa-Corbineau (DS3 R5) 1h0’37”7 (1^er Gr.R/R5), 2. Millet-Verger (Skoda Fabia) at 1''9, 3. Taveneau-Pogut (Citroën C3) at 35'', 4. Longépé-Choucroun (Fabia) at 1'51'', 5 . J. & C. Vaucel (DS3) at 3'30'', 6. André-Passetemps (Peugeot 306 Max) at 3’42” (11^er Gr.A/A7K), 7. Terrière-Taudière (306 Maxi) at 4’07’’, 8. Guénec-Ricou (C2) at 4’36’’ (1^er Gr.F2000), 9. Landais-Cairaul (Clio R3) at 5’07” (1^er R3), 10. Ulbert-Langlois (Clio Ragnotti) at 5’46” (1^er Gr.N/N3), etc.