Victories for Jean-Baptiste Franceschi, Terry Folb and Sam Taveneau in the French Rally Cup

Last weekend, numerous events counting towards the French Rally Cup were held throughout France. The program included eight races, two of which were National events, a number that was initially expected to be higher since the second round of the French Rally Championship 2nd Division, the Ronde de la Giraglia (Corsica), was cancelled due to the blockade of the ports by the island's sailors. There was still plenty of action to be had, however, including the return to competition of Jean-Baptiste Franceschi. The two-time French Gravel Rally Champion, entered in the Rally from the Pays d'Olliergues, triumphed aboard the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of the AMD Motorsport team. Co-driven by Stéphane Moulin, he finished ahead of the legend Cédric Robert and his navigator Daniel Gatteaux, in a BMW M3 E30, and Evan Brun – Philippe Boy (Peugeot 208 Rally4). At the Rallye Centre Alsace, the Folb family (Terry driving, Laurie in the right-hand seat) with the Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo from the Gilbert Compétition team finished ahead of Thierry Colney – Kevin Bronner, in their very first rally in such a car (Porsche 992 GT+) and Matthieu Hocquaux – Guillaume Duval (Peugeot 208 Rally4).

Rounds of the French Rally Cup held

At Val de Boutonne, the battle was intense, with the two leading crews separated at the finish by just 9 seconds. Sam Taveneau and Renaud Desmereau ultimately emerged victorious with a Alpine A110 GT+ ahead of Philippe and Alexandra Rageau, in a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, and Cédric De Sousa – Ronan Choucroun (Volkswagen Polo R5 GTi). Another rally was fiercely contested last weekend in Bléré. In the Rallye Autocourse, Michel Morin, co-driven by his wife Carol, was the sole representative of the R5 / Rally2 class (Ford Fiesta). He triumphed over Philippe Taffonneau – Loïc Sebire (Alpine A110 GT+) but the crew still managed two scratch times out of six stages. Sébastien and Nicolas Blondel (Renault The Mégane Maxi crews maintained their lead over their closest rivals by three seconds, securing third place overall. Less than 25 seconds separated the five crews at the finish of the Rallye du Balcon Est du Vercors. Starting at a blistering pace, the event saw Laurent Lacomy and Emmanuel Chene (Citroën C3 Rally2) crowned champions. With an 8,1-second advantage, they triumphed over Florian and Camille Chalon (Škoda Fabia R5) and Stéphane Vedelago and Stéphanie Latrémé (Renault Clio Rally3).

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A few surprises and important victories ahead of the French Rally Cup Final

At the Rallye du Quercy, the Citroën DS3 R5s of Nicolas Rouillard – Christel Olivet and Julien Marty – Jean-Luc Maury were expected to do well, and they took the top two spots in the overall standings in that order, with a 7,8-second gap in favor of Patrick's son. Frédéric Meurant and Kévin Aumenier, in a Škoda Fabia R5, completed the podium. At the Rallye des Salines, some expected slightly newer cars to be at the top of the standings, but ultimately, two cars were entered in the class. F2/14 who prevailed. At Coudeville-sur-Mer, David and Coline Villain thus achieved their first-ever overall victory in their Peugeot 208, ahead of Romain Brion – Lalie Cheron (Renault Clio II RS). Third place went to another car from the FRallyNat group, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X of Alain Halley and François-Xavier Delabarre, making for an unusual top 3. Let's conclude this overview with the results of the Rallye de Venasque (Vaucluse), where Nicolas Schifano – Angeline Ravier (Alpine A110 GT+) won for the second time this season… by only 0,8 seconds! Gaëtan Chastagnaret – Maxime Mollier finished second (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) and Cédric Scotto La Chianca – Mélanie Basso completed the podium in third place (Škoda Fabia R5).