Easter weekend results in the French Rally Cup

Alongside the second round of the French Gravel Rally Championship, marked by the impressive victory of Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard, a busy schedule awaited the participants in the French Rally Cup throughout France. Rally In Anguison (Nièvre), the battle was intense. After nearly 130 kilometers of special stages, David Salanon retained his title. Co-driven by Christopher Le Morillon in his Citroën C3 Rally2, the two-time winner of the French Cup Final edged out Denis Millet and Matthieu Douville (Volkswagen Polo R5 GTi), just like last year, by only 11,3 seconds. Ghislain Barbier and Yoann Bouchet, in the Porsche 991 GT+ seen notably at the Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais, climbed onto the third step of the podium.

Côme Ledogar unyielding in the Pays du Gier

Barbier wasn't the only one to shine in a Porsche last weekend. At the Rallye du Pays du Gier, Côme Ledogar, exceptionally co-driven for the occasion by Matthieu Duval, crushed the competition. Aboard his 991 GT+, the former winner of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans won the event… with a lead of more than 4 minutes over his closest pursuer at the end of the 152 timed kilometers. Stunning. The battle for the podium, behind the #1 Porsche, was nonetheless interesting to follow: alongside the two day winners, it was ultimately Thibaud Mounard – Thierry Marrel (Citroën DS3 R5) and Bruno Ginhoux – Adrien Bastide (Volkswagen Polo R5 GTi) who took the podium in that order, the latter having finally prevailed over Philippe Greiffenberg – Nadège Passaquin-Bouvet (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) by 12,3 seconds.

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Bruno Longépé, fond memories for all

Another national rally on the program last weekend was the Pays de Lohéac rally. Held in the world temple of RallycrossHe witnessed a former French Rally Cup Final participant, in this case the 2014 winner (La Rochelle), take the victory. Bruno Longépé, co-driven by Laurine Besson, distinguished himself at the wheel of his Volkswagen Polo R5 GTi, finishing more than a minute ahead of Philippe Taffonneau and Loïc Sebire, in a... Alpine A110 GT+, while Patrice and Valérie Robert completed the podium with their Škoda Fabia R5. Having received a penalty for a false start on the third stage, Longépé had to make up a 10-second deficit before getting back into contention, then dominated the event on Sunday with authority. Also of note was Knapick's presence at this rally, still driving his Citroën C3 Rally2, and setting two fastest times alongside his daughter Marie-Laure Lemonnier… all on the stage laid out on the Lohéac Circuit – you couldn't make it up!

Godard / Ural, same message

Two other rallies, this time regional, allowed their crews to compete for additional points towards qualification for the Remiremont Final. At the Rallye du Pays de Faverges in Haute-Savoie, where the field was of high quality, Ludovic Godard and Pierre Blot emerged victorious. Alpine A110 GT+ prepared by MCB Rallye Compétition. The driver from Doubs, now a four-time winner this season, dominated Patrice Bonnefond – Hervé Greffet (Porsche 991 GT+) and Kévin Duc – Séverine Chamiot-Maitral (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo). Finally, in Neufchâtel-en-Bray (Seine-Maritime), Olivier Ural avenged his Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais, where he and Adrien Van Beveren ended up on their roofs. Alongside Maxence Decorde, he secured victory in Thibault Habouzit's Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, ahead of Victorien Houyelle – Céline Berquez (Škoda Fabia R5) and Samuel and Simon Salaun (Volkswagen Polo R5 GTi).