Among the regular participants of the world championship on rally-cross, only one representative of France — Jeanne Davy. He failed to win on their own land, but his teammate Timmy Hansen managed to win the French stage! Stage, which became a home for their team Peugeot-Hansen. At the start of the race, which was held at the legendary track in Loeake, out of 37 participants offset Supercars.
The traditional list of regular participants of the world championship on rally-cross France joined by some very interesting names. For a start — a French champion in rally-cross 2010 Davie Jeanne joined three other champion Mark Lyabull (2009), Gaetan Serazini (2012) and Jerome Grosse Jeannine (2013).
But this trio of champions paled in comparison with the most eminent debutant season — at the start of its home stage went quadruple world champion Yvan Muller WTCC series.
View the fight participants and support their countrymen came 75 thousand spectators — a record season. And participants have not deceived the expectations of fans — on the track and lacked sharp struggle, and contacts between the racing cars, and real sports tragedies.
The key to the success of the next Timmy Hansen — a victory in France became the second Swede to win a stage in a row — has become a superb choice of tires for the preliminary and final races.
Swede brilliantly held «hits» — four series of preliminary races. In the first and second «hits» Hansen-average won a landslide victory. On the second day, Timmy came at the start of the third and fourth preliminary rounds are not on the new tires — as did, for example Petter Solberg. but in pretty shabby.
Such a risky choice of wheels led to Timmy in the third session was the second, and in the final — all sixth. It is not surprising, because contenders Hansen bet on Heats, put fresh tires on Saturday Heats.
However, in this case, they did not have enough new wheels on the semi-finals and the final! But to save on tires Hansen put on a fresh set of the first semi-final...
From the start of arrival Timmy took the lead until the finish and did not let anyone seriously doubt his victory. At the end of «hit» the Swede dropped the pace, but it was caused by only the desire to preserve the wheel for the final.
But unlucky, it's the world champion and current championship leader Petter Solberg. Bright driving style has led to the fact that after two «hits» rubber has deteriorated at the beginning of the second day of races Norwegian had to put a new set. As a result, in the semifinals and the final, he was forced to go on worn tires, which could not affect the final result.
But the world champion of bad luck is over. In France, Petter finally managed to interrupt the losing streak, not only to reach the final, but finished the stage in second position Loeake!
Third place — and this is a real surprise — won by Jean-Baptiste Dyuburg. For Dyuburg brothers — in the standings Super 1600 played the younger brother of Jean-Baptiste Andreas — home stage of the World Cup was the last in their short «World» program. But here they have made great strides — Dyuburg Sr. took the «bronze» in the standings Supercars, and his younger brother, and did finished second in Super 1600!
Interesting fact — Dyuburg was the only party to the final race, representing the country not from Scandinavia. In the final six riders involved — one French, one Norwegian and four Swedes.
One of the four representatives of the «country sveev» won the race, and three of his countrymen were forced to settle for places in the final of the fourth to sixth.
Johan Kristofferson in the final race was out of the fight — from the three leaders, he left behind, and the pursuers have withdrawn: Mattias Ekström spun in the first turn, and he broke the drive, and Robin Larsson stopped on the highway because of the broken gearbox.
But where is the rest of the favorites? Where Olsbergs MSE team at full strength headed Timerzyanovym? Where Jeanne? Where Heikkinen? Where Marklund? All of them remained outside the final.
Reinis Nitishs failed qualifying heats — the best for him was a second «hit», in which he finished twelfth! As a result, after the end of «hits» Latvian found himself already in 16th place — in the semi-finals of the first dozen passes.
His teammates Olsbergs MSE Andreas Bakkerud and Timur Timerzyanov took place in the semi-finals. But in the first of them Bakkerud first hit the blockage with Mattias Ekström and Davie Jeanne, and then collided with one already Davie, «ordered» him to the strikers, and he broke a wheel. This gets to the finals could forget.
Timur Timerzyanov with Topi Heykkinenom together made a catastrophic mistake — they drove to the «Joker-circle» at the wrong time. Leaving them to it, they found themselves behind Gaetana Serazini. And the Russians, and in the end the Finn ahead of the Frenchman, but spent a lot of time, and Timur also broke a wheel.
And so it happened that the finals in France was almost entirely Scandinavian.
The next stage of the World Rally Championship-cross will be held on September 18 in Spain on the track in Barcelona. I wonder who will be the fate of favor this time? Maybe the Russians?
