Rouen-les-AFX: December 2023

Wednesday 27 December 2023

Rallye du Medoc VHRS - 2023

The winners of the VHRS rally were Christian and Marie Lantres in this Subaru Impreza.

As has been common in my time watching the Rallye du Medoc, there was a large field of VHRS cars competing in the regularity section of the rally. Nineteen cars entertained us first thing in the morning just after dawn broke on ES1 and first thing in the afternoon on ES3 just before the rain got worse.

In damp difficult conditions most of the competitors did exceptionally well in keeping to their schedule.

It was fun seeing the Lotus Seven and hearing the navigators instructions as they approached the corner and GPS points. Thanks to News Classic Racing for publishing their positions.

Second were Jérôme David and Bénédicte Jolivet in this Peugeot 205 GTI.

Third was this other Peugeot 205 GTI driven by Patrice and Xavier Capdeville.

Fourth were Daniel Lavigne and Cédric Stubbs in this Volkswagen Golf 1 GTI.

Fifth was this Volkswagen Polo G40 driven by Jean-Jacques Hervier and Maryse Errard.

Sixth was this Porsche 911 of Olivier and Alice Villemonteix.

Seventh was this Porsche 911 SC of Christophe and Albane Bru.

Eighth were Julien and Fleur Pujols in this Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Tenth was this Porsche 911 driven by Gérard Laflaurie and

A BMW Alpina C1 came eleventh driven by Bernard Sarazin and Jacques Assailly.

Twelfth were Francis Lanaverre and Aurélien Carrasco in this Porsche.

In 13th position was this BMW 635 CSI driven by Guillaume Morel and Julien Schwartz.

This Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 2000 came 14th driven by Roland Blond and Patrick Poupineau.

In 15th place were Philippe and Sophie Genieys in this Peugeot 205.

A rather unusual rally car, this Lotus Seven, finished sixteenth driven by Christian Varielle and Marc Nadau.

This Mercedes 450 SLC Racing goes wide driven by Jean-Luc Dutel and Didier Faure on its way to seventeenth place.

In eighteenth place was this Volkswagen Golf driven by Fabrice and Thomas Moliona.

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The last finisher in the VHRS rally was this Renault R19RN driven by William Pattedoie and William Gillet.

Another picture of the Lotus Seven.

Tuesday 26 December 2023

Rallye du Médoc VHC - 2023

The winners of the VHC rally were Alain Grand and Bernard Correge in this wonderful Lancia Delta Integrale.

With two of the entrants withdrawing, just 5 cars started the VHC section of this year's Rallye du Medoc. In the end, after the Citroën retired, the well turned out Lancia took a relatively straightforward win. For the spectators the unusual site of the Matra Djet competing was perhaps the highlight.

The conditions were rather damp as can be seen from the photos.

Seeing this well turned out French Blue Matra Djet 6 on the Saturday in Parc Fermé made me eager to see it on the road on Sunday.

Second was this Fiat 131 Abarth which was the only finisher in the Classic section of the rally. The driver / navigator were Max and Nadège Bazilet.

This wonderful Matra Djet 6 was second of the non-classics and third overall driven by Jacky and Dimitri Pivert.

Fourth overall and third of the non-classics was this Peugeot 205 driven by Erick Hornig and Pascal Robin.

Another photo of the Fiat-Abarth 131.

This Citroën Visa 1000 led early on in the hands of Mathieu Herran but didn't last the rally.

The winning Lancia.

Thursday 14 December 2023

Rallye Régional du Médoc, 2023 - Moderne

The winners of all four special stages were Julien Marty and Michaël Dussillos in this fast Citroën DS3 R5. However, they were later excluded from the results because they had removed their car from Parc Fermé too early. Here they are on the last stage ES4 Civrac.

For me it is always good to end my motor sport year on a high note with a visit to the Rallye du Médoc. It is my nearest motor sport event as the crow flies but as I live on the other side of the Gironde estuary, getting there is another matter! This year it had just two stages, each run twice, making 4 stages in all.

This year the rally was rather wet but it didn't stop quite a few spectators enjoying the event. 117 cars started the main rally and 78 finished. This asphalt event was centered in Lesparre-Médoc with stages in Civrac and Ordonnac. I watched ES2 and ES4 at Civrac. The eventual top three were rather a surprise and different from previous years.

This post cover the modern rally cars. Posts on the older VHC and VHRS cars will follow.

A couple of the top contenders in the Parc Fermé in Lesparre-Médoc on the afternoon before the rally.

As I waited for dawn and the first rally cars to appear, the sky was very red behind the church in Civrac. We were obviously in for some bad weather later in the day.

The winners of the rally, Stéphane and Léa Pustelnik, in their Skoda Fabia R5 on ES2.

They are a father and daughter team and this was their first win in this car and their first win since 2021.

Second place went to another Skoda Fabia R5 driven by Patrice and Valérie Robert. This is them in the rain on ES4.

Here they are earlier in the day on ES2 trying very hard and getting a little wide on a tight corner.

It was getting very dark during ES2 and here the third placed Renault Clio R3 cuts through the gloom as it approaches a tight corner. It was driven by Aurélien Pion and Maëva Perrinaud.

Fourth overall and winner of class R4 was Johann Hayet and Kevin Boisson in this Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

A relatively rare French rally car from the nineties, this Hommell Berlinette Echappement finished the event but some way off the pace. However as the only GT10 car to finish, it won its group and class. it was driven by Philippe and Quentin Costeseque.