Rallye du Valais: Valais duel for the SM title
CARRON OR COPPENS? The second Swiss automobile champion in the 2021 season will be determined this week at the Rallye du Valais. Only Sébastien Carron and Mike Coppens, who have little foreign competition at the home race, are still in question.
The 61st edition of the biggest rally on Swiss soil will be a purely Valaisan affair. Because Ivan Ballinari will no longer be defending the title he won in 2019 for budget reasons, only Mike Coppens and Sébastien Carron with their optimal Skoda Fabia R5 are still eligible.
Difficult starting position for the SM leader
Coppens is at the top of the table with 130 points, but already has four countable results. Carron, in second place with 119 points, on the other hand, can still score full points, while Coppens will have his worst result cancelled.
If Carron wins, as he did last time in 2016, he will be Swiss Rally Champion for the fourth time. In the event of a triumph by Coppens - it would be his first at the big home race - or at least the full number of points for the SM classification, third place would be enough for the 43-year-old from Vétroz. Sounds simple, but at no other rally is the failure and error rate so high and the technology so stressed.
Foreigners stay at home, Burri senior joins in the excitement
The international competition in the field of 59 cars is rather small this time. Thus, only the Belgians Peter Tsjön (Skoda) and Tim Parijs (Porsche 997 GT3) as well as the German Stefan Göttig in another Fabia take up the fight against the Swiss with equal material.
Among the nationals, Jonathan Michellod (Skoda) and Michaël Burri (VW Polo R5) are among the other contenders for the podium. Although they all know the Valais route from previous races, victory will undoubtedly go to local heroes Carron and Coppens.
Olivier Burri, who had won the last RIV so far in 2019 for the second time, keeps his word and comes only as an advisor and assistant to his son, although he has competed abroad on various occasions since then.
Toedtli without pressure
The Junior Championship and the Clio Swiss Trophy have already been decided. Jérémie Toedtli from Neuchâtel took both titles in September in Ticino with a new Renault Clio RS V Cup. The battle for the places of honor in these championships will still be exciting.
Comeback of Heinz Ruchti
Interesting from the German-speaking part of Switzerland will not only be the performance of the "rally old-timers" Ruedi Schmidlin/Erich Götte in the now unique Ford Fiesta S2000. Heinz Ruchti, a former touring car veteran, is making a comeback in an Alpine A110 with co-driver Martina Liechti. In the Rallye Top team, he will have an internal duel with Beat Wyssen and his daughter Janine in the Abarth 124 Spider.
The long time Covid conditions probably led primarily to the fact that also only 20 teams make up the field of participants of the Historic Cars (VHC), with the RIV counting for the first time as a round of the European Championship of these groups.
Barracks Sion as a center
The rally center is located in the Sion barracks, where a special stage will start on Friday and Saturday at 12 noon on a circuit with a large crowd of spectators. The rally starts with the first short stage on Thursday, October 21, at 16:30. After a short SS in Martigny, it leads over the Col des Planches.
The finish after 14 more special stages (total 189.73 kilometers) on the next two days will be shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday in Sion Casernes. Spectators are admitted with 3G proof. On site, the organizer offers a test opportunity (for 40 francs per person).
Further information is available on the homepage of the organizer and Auto Sport Schweiz.
