The French Rally Championship 2nd Division resumes in Mâcon

As is the case every June, the capital of the Saône-et-Loire department is gearing up for motorsport this weekend. The 43rd edition of the Rallye des Vins Mâcon, a round of the French Rally Championship 2nd Division, has once again attracted a full field of entries and promises some exciting competition.

While the French Asphalt Rally Championship will hold its fourth round of the season next week in the Vosges mountains, the 2nd Division is back in the spotlight this weekend near Mâcon. Rally The Mâcon Wines Rally, which has previously hosted the CFR Asphalt Rally, is a key event at this time of year and attracts a large number of crews each season. This weekend, 129 competitors in the Modern Rally and 47 in the Historic Rally (VHC) counterpart, as Mâcon is also the 4th round of the French Historic Rally Championship, made the trip to Saône-et-Loire. The championship's top drivers are obviously present, starting with Tony Cosson and Kévin Millet (Porsche 992 GT+) who have made the CFR 2nd Division their priority this season. Winners in Dieppe, they will wear number 1 this weekend.

Mâcon Wine Rally: All the favorites from the CFR 2nd Division will be there

Facing them will be, among others, the provisional leaders of this championship, Jordan Berfa and Benjamin Gary (Hyundai i20N R5). Winners in Grasse and 2nd in Florac at the Rallye de Lozère, the crew from southwest France currently holds a 33-point lead over Tony Cosson and Kévin Millet, as well as over Belgian Laurent Jamart and his French co-driver Charlotte Houbin, who are competing in the championship in a Peugeot 208 Rally4. They are also participating in Mâcon.

Eddie Lemaître and Thomas Chauffray, who debuted their Porsche 992 GT+ at the Rallye de Lozère, are also participating in the Rallye des Vins Mâcon: these four crews form the core of the French Rally Championship 2nd Division at the time of writing. In Mâcon, they will be joined by other crews who will also score points, and will also have to contend with competitors entered solely to accumulate qualifying points for the French Rally Cup Final.

Other crews capable of turning the Mâcon Wine Rally on its head

Indeed, although the event was included in the French Rally Championship 2nd Division calendar, crews were given the option of entering the CFR 2nd Division and/or the French Rally Cup. Denis Millet – Guillaume DuvalDriving their Volkswagen Polo R5 GTi, they are among the contenders for victory but will be inconsequential in terms of the championship standings. Among the crews who have made the same choice as the former Rallye Jeunes winner are Luc Giroux and Julien Loup (Citroën C3 Rally2), Simon Jean-Joseph accompanied by Méryl Giraldo (Porsche 991 GT+), and Ludovic Godard and Matthieu Bôle-Richard (Porsche 992 GT+). Porsches will indeed be well represented in Mâcon with a total of 14 cars divided between the GT+ and GT10 classes. Organized over 12 special stages, the event will begin this Saturday, June 6th, with an initial loop of three stages.

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