Saint-Requier at the end of the suspense at the Rallye de la Lys

Third after the 1^re stage, Yves Saint-Requier finally won at the end of an event full of twists and turns. Christiann created a surprise by taking the lead with a bonus of 12” over Bayard who had stalled at the start of SS2. The next day, the two WRC resumed their duel before suffering punctures during SS9. If the six-time reigning winner lost all his chances, Christiann went on the offensive again and came back to 6” behind the Skoda R5 driver before the final sector. Alas, a double puncture in the same corner as the previous lap sealed the outcome. Now with a DS3 R5, Lapouille won the silver medal ahead of Briton Hendy who resisted Pavy's rush at the last minute. The withdrawal of the impressive Lacroix allowed Lance to establish himself in the group F2000. In group N, Debove pulled the chestnuts out of the fire after the successive withdrawals of Heuninck and Leduc, who had dominated for a long time. B. Sailly

Ranking: 1. Saint Requier-Gilbert (Skoda Fabia R5) 1h18'57"7 (1^er Gr.R), 2. Lapouille-Devienne (Citroën DS3 R5) at 1'19", 3. Hendy-Davies (Ford Fiesta R5) at 1'38", 4. Pavy-Denecker (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) at 1'39", 5. Christiann-Mortier (Fiesta WRC) at 2'31", 6. Lance-Lance (Renault Clio RS3) at 4'37" (1^er Gr. F2000), 7. Debove-Caux (Subaru Impreza N15) at 5'18" (1^er Gr.Peugeot 306 S16) at 8'41"4, etc.