Lozère Rally: First career victory for Romain Durand and Nicolas Blanc

One of the two rounds counting towards the French Rally Championship 2nd Division, held last weekend, took place in Florac, at the gateway to the Tarn Gorges, in Lozère. Rally The Rallye de Lozère, a winding rally and a favorite among local competitors, once again delivered its share of surprises and saw Romain Durand and Nicolas Blanc crowned champions for the very first time in their careers, driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. This was only Durand's third appearance in this car, acquired at the end of last year: the 30-year-old, a former competitor in the French Junior Rally Championship, defied all expectations by dominating the rally from start to finish. While the crew could reasonably be considered one of the dark horses in this Rallye de Lozère, few expected them to perform at such a high level, especially against such fierce competition.

Durand – Blanc, the good horses to bet on at the Lozère Rally

Championship leaders after their victory in Grasse, Jordan Berfa and Benjamin Gary (Hyundai i20N R5) were logically the center of attention before the start, as were the locals Eric Rousset – Christophe Sauce (Citroën C4 WRC), 9th in the last Rhône-Charbonnières Rally, than Dorian Nicolas – William Julien (Citroën C3 Rally2) or Ayrton Lechartier – Marine Maye (Citroën C3 Rally2). Leading from the Prologue on Saturday morning, Romain Durand and Nicolas Blanc did more than just resist this competition: they never gave them an inch, as the two men remained in the lead until the finish. Jordan Berfa and Benjamin Gary still had a good result, finishing second 14,9 seconds behind the winners, and logically retain their championship lead. Dorian Nicolas and William Julien completed the podium, taking third place.

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