Critérium Jurassien: A race with two winners
SHORT SM RUN Michaël Burri secured overall victory at the opening round of the Swiss Rally Championship. However, because he drives with a French license, the SM round win goes to runner-up Mike Coppens.
The first round of the 2022 Swiss Rally Championship was a rematch of the duel between Michaël Burri and Mike Coppens. Four seconds separated the two at the last encounter at the Rallye du Valais in October 2021, when local hero Coppens was ahead.
Burri turned the tables at the Critérium Jurassien. With a lead of 20.2 seconds, the Bernese-Jurassian and co-driver Anderson Levratti from France won in front of their home crowd in a VW Polo R5 for the second time since 2018.
Double reason for satisfaction for the second
Because Burri starts with a French license and is therefore not eligible for points in the Swiss championship, the defending champion can still be satisfied with the outcome of the rally.
Mike Coppens: "We knew it would be difficult to beat Burri. Here he knows every meter by heart. We drove well and that's why I'm very happy with second place overall and victory in the SM standings."
Coppens was also satisfied with his new car. Because his Skoda Fabia was not ready for action a week before the rally, the reigning champion had to switch to a Citroën C3 without further ado (gallery left). Because he quickly got to grips with it, he will stay with it for the time being.
Fireworks by Jonathan Hirschi
Because it snowed overnight, the second and third special stages had to be cancelled on Saturday morning, reducing the total length from 146.8 km to 98.31 km.
At the start, returnee Jonathan Hirschi and co-driver Michaël Volluz took command in his VW Polo R5. The man from Neuchâtel also led the overall classification after setting two more best times. It was only in SS6 that Burri took the lead after Hirschi recorded a slip.
Before the last stage Hirschi was again in second place behind Burri before a puncture slowed him down again and he had to settle for third place.
Bad luck for Althaus, no start for "Balli
Sacha Althaus' strong performance was not rewarded. Driving a Rally2 car for the first time, the man from Jura was in second position after two SS. But two punctures in SS5 and SS9 knocked the 25-year-old out of the top 10.
Ivan Ballinari did not appear at the start. The Swiss rally champion of 2018 and 2019 cancelled because his co-driver Marco Menchini was not feeling well.
Clio victory to border crosser Juif, Gonon takes VHC victory ahead of Keller
Fastest in the Clio Trophy Swiss was Styve Juif (center gallery) from France near the border. Ismaël Vuistiner from Valais was 18.4 seconds behind at the finish. Third place went to Guillaume Girolamo. He prevailed in the Junior-SM ranking after the retirement of Yoan Loeffler against his only opponent Sarah Lattion unchallenged.
In the historic VHC class, Florian Gonon, a former Swiss champion, won in a Ford Escort RS 1600 Mk1 (gallery on the right). At the finish line, the man from Valais had a 13.9-second lead over the German-Swiss duo Erwin Keller/Dominique Juplé in a BMW M3.
The second round of the Swiss Rally Championship, the Rallye du Chablais, will take place from June 2 to 4 around Aigle.
Critérium Jurassien overall classification Critérium Jurassien Res. classes
