Ticino: Carron continues the winning streak
NO WAY around Sébastien Carron at the 23rd Rally Ronde del Ticino. The SM 2021 will probably only be decided in Valais. However, Jérémie Toedtli is already the Clio and Junior champion. Sébastien Carron and co-driver Lucien Revaz are unstoppable. The 43-year-old from Valais and his French co-driver also triumphed [...]
Sébastien Carron and co-driver Lucien Revaz are unstoppable. The 43-year-old driver from the Valais and his French co-driver also triumphed in the fourth round of the Swiss Rally Championship in Ticino.
With a lead of more than 40 seconds, the well-rehearsed duo secured their third victory of the season. Or to put it another way: Since the 2019 Rally du Chablais, Carron has won all the rallies in which he has taken part.
Up and away
Carron laid the foundation for his 22nd victory in the Swiss Championship on the first special stage over 24.46 kilometers. There he took 16.8 seconds from current SM leader Mike Coppens and 17 seconds from local hero Ivan Ballinari (all Skoda Fabia R5).
The same picture presented itself on the second descent of the "Nara" special stage. Once again, Carron took 17 seconds and more from the competition. At the halfway point of the rally, the three-time Swiss was already 34 seconds ahead of Coppens and 36 ahead of Ballinari.
Duel for the second place
Carron was also faster than all the others on the third SS "Valcolla 1" over 14.47 kilometers. This time, however, only 2.5 seconds separated him from Ballinari, who was able to move past Coppens into second place overall with this intermediate sprint.
This order was maintained after the last special stage, although SS "Valcolla 2" was not won by Carron, but by Kevin Gilardoni (gallery left, photo: Maissen) from southern Grisons in another Skoda with a lead of 0.4 seconds.
For runner-up Ballinari (center gallery, photo: Maissen), it was the best result of the season after the Rallye des Bornes, where he also finished second.
Who will take the title chance in Valais?
With 3rd place - his worst result in 2021 - Mike Coppens remains ahead in the championship. The man from Verbier has 130 points on his account after four runs - eleven more than Carron, who has one run less to show, and 27 more than the reigning champion Ballinari.
What this means for the grand finale in Valais from October 21 to 23 is still up in the air. This depends primarily on whether Carron and Ballinari will be on the start line at the RIV.
The fact is that there are still a maximum of 42 points up for grabs. And Coppens and Ballinari would have one strike result in five starts.
Toedtli becomes double champion
Behind the top 3 were Kevin Gilardoni, veteran Grégoire Hotz (Citroën C3), Jonathan Michellod (Skoda Fabia) and the fastest RGT driver Sergio Pinto (Alpine A110).
As in the Rallye des Bornes, Jérémie Toedtli came out on top in the Juniors (gallery on the right). The man from Neuchâtel had a lead of 32.5 seconds over Guillaume Girolamo and more than 2:50 over Yoan Loeffler at the finish.
Because Toedtli's direct opponents Sacha Althaus and David Erard dropped out early on, Toedtli is already set as the new junior champion before the Rallye du Valais. He and his co-driver Julie Faure also have the title in the Clio Trophy Swiss in their grasp after the Rally del Ticino.
Group wins for Battaglia and Troillet
Victory in the Trophée Michelin Suisse went to Frenchman Thomas Battaglia (Renault Clio R3 Maxi), who clearly beat Laurent Bérard (Honda Civic) and all the others.
In the small VHC group, Guy Trolliet (Porsche 911 Carrera) triumphed ahead of Nicolas Jolidon (BMW 325i E30) and Pietro Galfetti (Opel Monza). The previous SM leader in the "Historics" Claude Alain Cornuz retired with his Ford Escort RS in the third SS in 3rd place.
