HISTORIC TOUR CHARADE – SATURDAY
Over the many gradients of the Monts d'Auvergne circuit, the drivers of the French Historic Circuit Championship experienced a first day of racing in keeping with the tradition of the place. Charade, itself rooted in history, remains an incredibly demanding track!
A DAY IN FIGURES
9 : the number of races held this Saturday.
3975 m : the development of the Charade circuit.
233 : the total number of different cars in the races, all grids included.
27 : the number of cars present on the most crowded grids : those of the Formula Ford Kent/Zetec Trophy and the Lotus Trophy.
1'52''282 : the best qualifying time, all single-seater and Proto platforms combined, set by Matthieu Châteaux (Lucchini Alfa in SportProtosCup) on Friday at an average speed of 127.4 km/h. 253/1000 of a second: the smallest gap of the day between a winner and his immediate following (Arnaud Dousse and Hugo Carini in Formula Ford Kent).
3 drivers (Genecand, Girardet and Belle) classified in the same second for the closest finish of the day, in Formula Ford Historic.
1'56''196 : the best time of the day in the race, all single-seater grids combined, achieved by Davide Leone (March 783 in F3 Classic).
2'11''339 : the best time of the day achieved in the race, all GT/Touring classes combined, by Franck Julien (Ford Escort BDG) in Racing 81.
PODIUMS OF THE DAY
Roadster Pro Cup : 1.Fresnais, 2.Hergault, 3.Martin (on Mazda MX-5).
Formula Ford Kent Trophy: 1.Dousse (Van Diemen RF91), 2.Carini (Van Diemen RF90), 3.Genecand (Van Diemen RF92).
SportProtosCup : 1.Martin (Debora SP91 Alfa), 2.Kolly (Lola T292 BMW), 3.De Murard (Giada T118 Alfa).
F3 Classic Trophy: 1.Lajoux (March 793), 2.V.Leone (March 783), 3.B.Beltramelli (March 813).
Formule Renault Classic Trophy: 1.Robert (Martini MK48), 2.Gobba (Martini MK54), 3.« Nelson » (Martini MK48).
Maxi 1300 Series : 1.Trousse (Cooper S), 2.Faliere (Rallye 2), 3.Gandini (Mini Jem).
Formula Ford Zetec Trophy : 1.Genecand (Crosslé 25F), 2.Girardet (Crosslé 25F), 3.Belle (Lola T540E).
Youngtimers GTI Cup : 1.Quagliozzi (Honda Civic), 2.Julia (Honda Civic), 3.Mathez (309 GTI).
Racing 81 & Gr 1 : 1.Julien (Ford Escort BDG), 2.B.Beltramelli (Ford Escort), 3.Regnier (Porsche 910).
Lotus Trophy : 1.Vulliez, 2.Beloou, 3.Jacquet (tous sur Lotus Seven).
200 km of the Historic Tour : 1.Delarche/Lortal (Caterham Super Seven), 2.Vallery-Masson/Tavares/Châteaux (Tiga S2000), 3.V.Leone/D.Leone/Coppini (Lola T598).
The two races of the Asave Racing 65 and the GT Classic/Saloon Cars Trophies will be run on Sunday. On Saturday, José Beltramelli (TVR 400 Griffith) took pole position in Asavé Racing 65, while Fabrice Lefebvre (Audi Quattro/Saloon Cars) and Mathias Cazaux/Sébastien Mathieu (BMW M3 GTR/GT Classic) did the same in their respective trophies.
THEY SAID
Arnaud Dousse (winner in Formula Ford Kent with a Van Diemen RF91): "I started third and quickly managed to take the lead and open up a gap. I had deliberately done the qualifying session with used tires in order to keep the new ones for the race. However, I had opted for a rain setting, whereas the track turned out to be completely dry. The car's behavior deteriorated at the end of the race and Hugo (Carini) came back in contact. The last lap was very tense".
Julien Trousse (winner of the Maxi 1300 Series with a Mini Cooper): "With only the fourth time, it didn't go too well in qualifying. We corrected that for the race because there were things to improve in my driving. It wasn't easy to pass Nicolas Falière's Rallye 2, which was a little more comfortable in the twisties. Nevertheless, I managed to overtake him with four laps to go to claim this first victory of a season that started badly with an engine failure at Magny-Cours."
Gislain Genecand (winner in Formula Ford Historic with a Crosslé 25F): "I took an excellent start from the second row. As I had decided to keep my good tires for the race, it helped me to get a bit of a lead. Then, a few drops fell and I made two small mistakes that helped François (Belle) to come back and pass me. But I didn't want to lose that one! I was able to regain my lead with two laps to go, while Alain (Girardet) also joined us at the end of the race. All this was done in a very fair way, as usual between us".
UPDATE ON THE FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIP
It was definitely not a good day for the leaders of the French Championship! First in GT/Tourism, where Philippe Gandini recorded his first defeat of the year in the Maxi 1300 Series. "Only third on the finish line of the day, the Mini Jem driver is still firmly in the lead of the championship. Franck Quagliozzi, once again awarded in Youngtimers GTI Cup at the wheel of his Honda Civic, is provisionally in second place, but José Beltramelli (TVR Griffith in Asavé Racing 65) and Fabrice Lefebvre (Audi Quattro in Saloon Cars), who will wait until Sunday to compete in their two races, should logically be ahead of him again.
The co-leaders of the Single Seater/Proto ranking, Hugo Carini (Van Diemen RF91) and Davide Leone (March 783), were also left out of a possible victory on Saturday. The former conceded a short defeat (by 2/10 of a second) to Arnaud Dousse in Formula Ford Kent, while the Italian was unlucky in F3 Classic. Stopped in the formation lap, Davide was nevertheless able to start behind the pack and begin a spectacular recovery before making contact with Alain Girardet at the end of the race. The result was a 30-second penalty and a drop in the rankings. The Swiss driver Gislain Genecand was happier, taking advantage of his victory in the Formula Ford Historic to consolidate his place in the top three of the championship.
TO BE CONTINUED ON SUNDAY
12 other races, from 8:30 to 12:45 and from 14:25 to 17:35
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