This resident of Lot wins his 7th French motorcycle rally champion title

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The page turns with a great victory. Christophe Overneythis inhabitant of Lot which comes from win his 7th title of French motorcycle road rally champion at the end of the final stage of the championship on October 19 and 20, 2024 in Charente, in the Rally 3 category (Rallye 3 ACERBIS-HELITE-SHAD).

Another feat for the adopted Lotois, who would compete again this year against runners who were old enough to be his children. In addition, he came in second place in the Veteran category, narrowly missing the double. At 59, he decided that this championship was his last. He still has some plans to continue competing, but in a different way.

Demanding championship

For this final French championship, the athlete underwent relentless training, with preparation that he himself admits was “worthy of when I was preparing for the world championships”. “This year, I have never been so successful, I took several races in the lead,” he adds. Around him, he had set up a small team to develop the engine and chassis of his motorcycle, “a small 450 cm3 which passed several large cylinders”. He thus came 11th in the ranking in all categories, out of more than 250 drivers.

“I would have liked to have had both titles, but a mechanical problem in the Sarthe, while I was at the head of the race, made me lose a lot of points” continues the driver, who had to maintain a moderate speed to be sure of crossing the finish line and to be certain of having the title in Rally 3, to the detriment of that in Veterans.

Christophe Overney knew from the starting line that this year, these would be his last races in the French championship. He therefore did everything to win the title one last time.

A shock team

He therefore equipped himself with specialists to ensure that his vehicle was at the top. SMX Racing, in Hérault, which has also won two Paris Dakar quads, took care of the engine. “They made me an engine with incredible power, which took the advantage of acceleration, including on large displacements,” boasts Christophe Overney. For the chassis, he trusted Raphaël from ZR Team, near Le Castellet. “He has an exceptional level of knowledge and performance in terms of suspensions. For this French rally championship, he rode 5 bikes, and all 5 finished among the first 11, including two titles in Rally 1 and Rally 3,” specifies the pilot.

For his part, Christophe Overney has done a lot of preparation, both physical and mental. With this new chassis, he had to review all his knowledge to change his driving, and trained on a kart track to analyze his angles, his passing speeds, etc.

At the end of the four stages (coteaux rally in Ardèche, then that of Dourdou in Aveyron, and those of Sarthe and Charente), during races between 4 and 8 p.m. with timed zones day and night, on both dry and wet, he finally won rally 3. He won 5 out of the 7 events, with a 25-point lead over the second place finisher. “I think that a 450 cc has never been so well placed in recent years, nor that any driver of my age has gone so far,” he rejoices.

Projects

So the end of the French road rally championships, after 10 years of participation, 5 veteran titles and 2 rally titles 3.

Subsequently, several of his projects were aborted, such as that of setting up a stage of the French championship in the Lot or even of holding championships with a team of young people that he would have coached. However, he plans to do other races, in other forms, and is actively seeking local financial support (companies, institutions, etc.) to help him realize his next project. For the latter, which will be a real challenge if he manages to make it a reality, he will remain followed by his team who prepared his bike so well for the French championships. “And if I go there, it’s to win!” » assures Christophe Overney.

The pilot will also remain present for the bikers of the Lot in order to pass on his experience to them. He will notably participate in the next Trajectories days with the Lot gendarmerie, as well as in Road Safety days.

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