Raphaël Astier after his victory at Rhône-Charbonnières: "Everything fell perfectly into place"

After chasing it for many seasons, since the time Hyundai i20 R5 up to the years AlpineRaphaël Astier finally secured his first victory in the French Rally Championship. Having overcome Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud, he and Denis Giraudet overturned the... rally in the penultimate special stage before delivering a final blow to his opponent in SS12, bringing his final lead to a full 8 seconds. “Winning a two-wheel drive car in the CFR is something special. We often raced with them, having reached the podium several times, but we were still one step away from securing a victory.”he said, visibly moved, upon arrival at the event. "Naturally, I have a special connection with the..."Alpine… But to do it in a Porsche"It's really great.", added the man who had won the French Rally Cup Final in Lunéville in 2016, also with a Porsche. Ten years later, the Ardèche native adds another line to his national record.

In Rhône-Charbonnières, Raphaël Astier made one person very happy: Denis Giraudet.

This weekend's victory is also the first in the French Rally Championship for Denis Giraudet, his co-driver, since the 2015 Critérium des Cévennes, which he won alongside… Yoann Bonato, their rival today. It was the first victory in the French Rally Championship for the now six-time French Champion. "Denis is like a child!""It was fun," Astier joked shortly before stepping onto the final podium of the rally. While the profile of this Rhône-Charbonnières rally was, on paper, perfectly suited to their vehicle, the reigning French 2-Wheel Drive Champion still had to work hard to win the second round of the season. "Yesterday morning, particularly in the Bibost stage, it was really unpleasant with the lack of grip: you had to constantly hold onto the car, and it's a feeling we experienced again this morning."Astier explained. "It's a fantastic car, with great engine and aerodynamic potential, but it also carries a lot of weight and generates inertia. It requires very precise driving in certain situations.".

ALSO READ > Rhône-Charbonnières Rally: Victory for Raphaël Astier – Denis Giraudet

Is the Porsche 992 GT+ capable of winning on other fronts?

The very favorable weather this weekend also largely contributed to the final result of this rally. We knew in advance that the weather would be good, and everything fell perfectly into place for us in that respect. But we still had to continue fine-tuning the car's settings, especially during the last service before the afternoon loop, to finish the job properly.he indicated. This victory is therefore the second for a GT+ car after Sébastien Loeb at Mont Blanc 2024 Alpineand we now wonder if Raphaël Astier and Denis Giraudet could not repeat the experience as their 992 seems to have crossed many levels in terms of behavior. “When it’s dirty or bumpy, the Rally2 cars are better than us, and that reverses when the road is clean. What’s great, over a whole championship, is having different cars competing together and seeing how close the results can be at the finish.”The next event, in Antibes next May, could also, at certain times, give the advantage to Raphaël Astier's Porsche over the conventional Rally2 cars.