Yoann Bonato before the Rhône-Charbonnières Rally: "A rally that will highlight the performance of the cars"

It's fair to say that fans of rally They will certainly get their money's worth this weekend between the opening round of the European Championship (Sierra Morena, Spain) and the second round of the French Asphalt Rally Championship, which begins this Thursday, April 16th, with the Shakedown, which, as a reminder, is not timed in the CFR. Championship leader alongside Benjamin Boulloud, Yoann Bonato will be practically racing on home soil this weekend since the Rhône-Charbonnières Rally is organized by the club to which he belongs, the ASA du Rhône: We love participating and we were even recently reminded that this will be our eighteenth participation! "That's amusing," remarked the six-time French Rally Champion. The Charbo' has a real history: we're lucky to have some great events in the CFR, but it's true that this one has a special flavor. "It should be noted that Yoann Bonato holds the record for victories on the rally with five recorded successes, the last of which was last year by 4 tenths against Eric Camilli – Thibault de la Haye.

Advantage Rally2 or Porsche at the Rhône-Charbonnières Rally?

After the Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais Rally, everyone obviously has only one question on their mind: on a rally reputed to be as fast as the Rhône-Charbonnières, the Porsche Will they be able to compete with, or even surpass, the Rally2 cars? I'm firmly convinced that either the Porsches will be in front and there won't be any competition with the Rally2s, or it will be the other way around, but I mainly think that this rally will highlight the cars' performance. “,” says Yoann Bonato. On paper, the event may seem tailor-made for the bikes of Raphaël Astier, Côme Ledogar, or Ghislain Barbier: its profile, similar to last year's, also sees the return to the program of a special stage present in 2024 and slightly modified, which could further support this idea: The final section from Ternand to Milhomme to Chamelet, the third special stage of the first leg, will be another very fast section through the forest. It will certainly be short, but it will be worthwhile. ».

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The Hyundais of CHL Sport Auto, major rivals according to Yoann Bonato

Obviously, the competition won't be limited to Porsches. On sait that them Hyundai They are also formidable in dry conditions, and while I don't think it's possible to see the GT+ and Rally2 cars battling down to tenths of a second like they did last year against Eric Camilli, in either direction, I think it could very well happen with Hugo Margaillan or Réhane Gany at CHL Sport Auto “,” Bonato explains. Indeed, both men will be eager to do well there. Hugo Margaillan, who has twice stood on the podium, knows this event very well, while Réhane Gany was in contention for the win last year before going slightly off the road, without damaging his bike, but also unable to regain his footing after a long slide in a damp, sloping field. At Le Touquet, the driver from Réunion Island unfortunately had to retire early due to engine trouble.

The Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, a proven machine

One thing is certain now: while it was legitimate to question before Le Touquet whether the new Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale would be immediately competitive, its recent performances have proven otherwise. Bonato won the opening round of the season at its wheel, Andrea Crugnola did the same in the first round of the Italian Asphalt Rally Championship, and the performance by Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand in Croatia this past weekend obviously reinforces everyone's belief. For the entire development team, it was a source of pride to see Yohan and Arnaud, as well as Léo and Guillaume, and also Nikoay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov, complete such a rally in Croatia. " says Yoann Bonato, who contributed significantly to these performances. We may not have driven as fast as them last weekend, but we can say that we all, in a little way, contributed to this victory! " concludes the man from Isère with the touch of humor for which he is known.