Salanon takes fifth at Rallye Montbrisonnais

Favorite of the event, Salanon would find in the person of the Southerner Arzeno a serious opponent. At the end of the first stage, only 4” separated the two drivers. The next day, Salanon continued to set fastest times and found himself alone when Arzeno retired with mechanical problems after SS 4. In the end, the winner left the competition with only one best time out of the eleven special stages. to secure his fifth victory without any dispute, Mallon clocking in at 1'39. Ginhoux climbs onto the final podium but more than 5' from the winner. He was threatened until the end by the winner of Group N, Latour, who failed by only 11'' after having delivered a fine duel for the group victory against Derory. In F2000, Turnel (Saxo VTS) was in the lead after the 1^re stage before giving up (mechanical), leaving Gaillet to win in front of Mallon. For Group A, Papi posted five best times to win ahead of Grandpierre (Saxo Kit-Car). Note in the GT Group the victory of Massacrier who took the lead after the retirements of Dutreuil (Porsche 996 GT 3) and Clement (Porsche GT3) in the first two times due to mechanical problems. F. Lombard

Ranking : 1. Salanon-Cave (Skoda Fabia R5) 1h10'46'' (1^er Gr. R), 2. Mallon-Le Morillon (Ford Fiesta) at 1'39'', 3. Ginhoux-Moulin (Citroën DS 3) at 5'37'', 4. Latour-Colongeon (Renault Mégane) at 5'48''(1^er Gr. N), 5. Derory-Bessay (Subaru Impreza) at 5'53'', 6. Turnel-Robert (Clio R3) at 6'51'', 7. Berard-Berard (Clio R4) at 6'58 '', 8. Gaillet-Belleville (BMW 318 Compact) at 7'02'' (1^er Gr. F2000), 9. Capelo Nobre-Berard (Clio RS) at 7'17'', 10. Mallon-Pauty (BMW 318 Compact) at 7'25'', … 12. Papi-Perrin (Clio Super 1600) at 7'58'' (1^er Group A), … 55. Massacrier-Colomb (Nissan 350 Z) at 15'25'' (1^er GT), etc.