Rally: Jonathan Hirschi tops once again
PURE TENSION The Rallye du Chablais, the second round of the Swiss Rally Championship, had it all: Especially until the ninth special stage. Jonathan Hirschi took command and secured his second win of the season.
Photo. Eichenberger
As at the season opener of the Swiss Rally Championship in the Jura, the top 3 at the Rallye du Chablais were: 1st Jonathan Hirschi/Sarah Lattion 2nd Jonathan Michellod/Stéphane Fellay, 3rd Sacha Althaus/Lisiane Zbinden. While the tension in the Critérium Jurassien had already disappeared after the first day because Hirschi's lead after the first special stage was so large, in the Chablais it was a matter of seconds - in some cases even tenths of a second - up to the 9th (of 14 special stages).
Photo: Cornevaux
Mike Coppems suffered puncture
The decision for the overall victory was made on the second day in SS9. Mike Coppens (with co-driver Christophe Roux), who had been in the lead until then, suffered a puncture from Collombey to Murraz, which also affected the front right brake system on his Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo.
Mike Coppens: "The frustration about this retirement is very big because we were doing very well up to this point. I've never felt so comfortable in the car. And I knew we still had reserves."
Sacha Althaus on the podium
The new leader Hirschi then managed to maintain his lead over Michellod and left no stone unturned in the remaining stages.
Jonathan Hirschi: "The first day was not only great spectacle for the spectators. It was also very exciting for us drivers. And it was a good advertisement for the Swiss Rally Championship. On the second day I was very careful, especially on the stage between Collombey and Murraz, where you could easily get a puncture."
Due to Coppens' retirement, Sacha Althaus moved up to third place. This means that the driver from the Jura has been able to celebrate his second podium finish in the Rallye-SM. Further entries in the upcoming rounds of the Rallye-SM have not yet been secured for budgetary reasons.
Photo: Cornevaux
Thibault Maret showed strong performance
Behind the top 3, Thibault Maret/Christophe Cler (Skoda Fabia R5) finished in 4th place, Sergio Pinto/Charlène Greppin (Alpine A110 RGT) in 5th, Sébastien Berner/Grégoire Chappot (Peugeot 208 T16) in 6th and David Erard/Sarah Junod in VW Polo GTI R5 in 8th. Maret, a young man from the Valais, should be particularly proud. For the 22-year-old, it was the best result in his career so far.
Yoan Loeffler (Citroën C3 Rally2) also drove a strong rally. However, the local hero from Bex (VS) was robbed of his reward and had to settle for 10th place.
Jérémy Michellod again the best
As in the Jura, victory in the Juniors went to Jérémy Michellod, the younger brother of Jonathan Michellod, after Guillaume Girolamo's accident in SS10. He also won the Michelin Trophy Alps 2WD. Second in the Junior category was Damien Lovey. In the Alps, the places of honor went to Laurent Bérard (also winner of the Swiss Rally Cup) and Philippe Broussoux.
Pascal Perroud scored with BMW
In the historic class, the VHC, it was once again Pascal Perroud in the BMW M3 E30 and Florian Gonon in the Ford Escort RS1600 who decided the victory between themselves. As in the Jura, Perroud was ahead in the end by just over 20 seconds. Perroud's brand colleague Pascal Bachmann secured third place. The latter, as a participant in the ERC Historic in second place (ahead of Guy Trolliet), missed out on victory in the European Championship standings. This went to the Lancia duo Luigi Battistolli (aka Lucky) with ex-Michèle Mouton co-driver Fabrizia Pons. In the VHRS, which is all about uniformity, victory went to Rudolf Hofmann (Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider) ahead of Laurent Pernet (BMW 325 ix) and René Winz (MG B GT).
Photo: Eichenberger
Cyndie Allemann in eleventh place
The ADAC Opel E-Rally Cup, which was held for the first time as a guest series, was also exciting right to the end. The winner, Max Reiter from Germany, was separated by just 3.6 seconds from Calle Carlberg from Sweden at the finish. Third place among the Stromers went to Christian Lemke. The Swiss guest driver Cyndie Allemann did well on her rally debut and finished eleventh, four minutes behind the winner.
... and so it goes on this season:
- July 8 and 9, Rallye de Bourgogne - Côte Chalonnaise (F)
- August 31 - September 2, Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine (F)
- 29-30 September, Rally del Ticino
- October 26-28, Rally International du Valais
