Citroën Racing Trophy – Rallye de France Alsace 2010 – 30 September/03 October
The sixth round of the French Rally Championship got underway on Thursday fromPlace Kleber in Strasbourg and was held in extreme conditions. The crews did battleon extremely tricky roads in front of thousands of spectators. Jérôme Schmitt won theCitroën Racing Trophy, while Jean-Renaud Marchal consolidated his overall lead. EricLafont completed the top three and claimed his first podium.
218. That was the total number of muddy and slippery competitive kilometres contestedby the crews under extremely unusual conditions. The weather, far from being clement,made things considerably more complicated as the C2-R2 MAX drivers took the rally starton Friday morning in wet conditions.
During the first loop of stages, up-and-coming youngsters Quentin Giordano and GermainBonnefis set the pace, as well as local man Jérôme Schmitt. Bonnefis dominatedproceedings in the afternoon, setting fastest time in Hohlandsbourg, Firstplan, Vallee deMunster and the epic Grand Ballon – as well as a tenth-fastest time overall – before endingthe day in the lead of the R2 category. Behind him, Jérôme Schmitt had a strong run to aprovisional second place in class. Jean Renaud Marchal and Thierry Venturini were justbehind the leading group thanks to some consistent performances, while QuentinGiordano had to retire on SS7.
Rain fell once more on Saturday, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the huge crowdswho flocked to the rally. The action consisted of four challenging special stages. It ended indisappointment for Germain Bonnefis, who was forced to retire after going off the road –without serious consequences. Mickaël Reydellet made a big impression by setting twofastest times before calling it a day on the 36-kilometre Pays d’Ormont stage. Theconsistency of Jean-Renaud Marchal and Eric Lafont was to pay off. Having kept up thechase, they eventually joined Jérôme Schmitt on the podium. The man from Alsace, havingdriven an intelligent rally, clinched his first victory in the Citroën Racing Trophy.Jean-François Liénéré, in charge of Citroën Racing’s customer competition programme,commented: “Run for the first time, the Rallye de France proved to be an extremelytricky event because of weather conditions that made the roads extremely slippery.Our local drivers, such as Jérôme Schmitt and Jean Renaud Marchal, were able tocapitalise on their local knowledge and adapt their driving styles accordingly. Oncemore the C2-R2 MAX has shown itself to be reliable and competitive even under themost extreme conditions.”
Following the asphalt of Strasbourg, the C2-R2 MAXs will now get back onto gravel inMillau, for the Cardabelles Rally.
Jérôme Schmitt (C2-R2 MAX): “We’re extremely proud to win this rally under difficultcircumstances. The conditions were chaotic and like everyone else we had our share ofproblems with punctures and mistakes. The car was a delight to drive and its reliabilityenabled us to win here on home territory in Alsace.”
Jean-Renaud Marchal (C2-R2 MAX): “Bearing in mind all the different conditions we sawon this rally, the result is definitely a positive one. Our goal was to take away good pointsfor the Citroën Racing Trophy so our mission is now accomplished.”
Eric Lafont (C2-R2 MAX): “We really enjoyed ourselves with the C2-R2 MAX but we alsosuffered with the conditions on this extremely difficult rally. The experience we gainedmade it well worth the trip and we prioritised just getting to the finish. In the end ourapproach turned out to be the right one and we’re absolutely delighted with the result.”
