Scratches: Rabasse (2) – Godard (1) – Cartier (1)
Leaders : ES1-ES3 : Rabasse, ES4-ES6 : Godard
ES6 : In an edition of the Ronde du Jura contested in ideal conditions, Ludovic Godard perfectly succeeded in adapting to the Clio Rally3. On an event that he knows well, the Renault driver was able to make the difference mid-rally by also taking advantage of the error of Cédric Rabasse, then leader. The podium is completed by Thomas Benier and Victor Cartier, winner of the FRC2 ahead of all the Rally2s.
5th overall, Jean-Marc Falco, former winner of the event, won in the FRallyNat group. In FRC4, Clément Gegout retained first place until the end, with a nice 7th place overall! Finally, in FRC5, Alexis Bertois positions his N2 in 14th place overall with the victory in his category.
We will also note the participations of Léo Rossel and Eliott Delecour, entered with Monte-Carlo tires to prepare for the first round of the world championship.
Direct classification
SS5: The rain came for this last loop and Ludovic Godard signed a new scratch to consolidate his first place, more than thirty seconds ahead of Thomas Benier and almost a minute over Victor Cartier. Author of the 5th time, Eliott Delecour achieved his best performance since the start, notably ahead of Léo Rossel.
SS4: Fragile leader before this special, Cédric Rabasse lost more than six minutes on a road exit while Victor Cartier put in a great performance ahead of all the Rally2s. The Toyota driver moved up to provisional third place, but is still far from the lead now occupied by Ludovic Godard, 30 seconds ahead of the other Clio Rally3 of Thomas Benier.
In Rally2, the ranking is now dominated by Paul Euvrard with his Hyundai. In FRC4, Clément Gegout is still strong and occupies a good 9th place overall, being first 2-wheel drive. In FRC5, the N2s are in great shape with five crews grouped together in around thirty seconds.
SS3: Author of the second fastest time twice during the first loop, Ludovic Godard this time takes the scratch and comes back to 3s8 behind Cédric Rabasse! At the wheel of the second Clio Rally3 in the general classification, Thomas Benier is a solid third.
Close to the top 6 before this special, Léo Rossel crashed into a wall of snow and lost more than two minutes in this SS3. “With our tires, it’s just undriveable. It’s even dangerous all the time. We’ll go into the next one, and then we’ll see.” With the other C3 from his Trajectoire Racing team, Marc Amourette made the same mistake.
On this Ronde du Jura, it should be noted that Léo Rossel, Marc Amourette and Eliott Delecour are the only drivers to ride with 18-inch Monte-Carlo tires.. The majority of competitors ride in 15 with more studs.
SS2: We find exactly the same quartet as in the second special with Cédric Rabasse winning, followed by the Clio Rally3s of Godard and Benier. Overall, the Skoda driver now has a 5s margin over Godard and 19s over Benier.
With his Subaru Impreza N4, Alain Girod is a brilliant provisional 4th, and ahead of a big Rally2 field.
For his part, Léo Rossel signs the 7th provisional time and is one minute behind Rabasse in the general standings. Close to Rossel in SS1, Eliott Delecour lost two minutes in this special due to mechanical problems and an exit. It should also be noted that the differences in tires between each driver can be significant!
In FRC4, Clément Gegout dominates for the moment with a ten-second margin over Jean-Paul Monnin.
SS1: 83 competitors took the start of this event which will be contested in ideal conditions. Winner in 2023, Cédric Rabasse signs the first scratch ahead of Ludovic Godard, beaten by only 1s1 as he discovers his Renault Clio Rally3. The provisional podium is completed by the other Clio of Thomas Benier.
For his debut on snow, Léo Rossel sets the sixth time, narrowly ahead of Eliott Delecour who is new to this category.
