Rally-SM Morzine: Hirschi in a class of his own
SOUVEREIGN VICTORY Jonathan Hirschi claimed his second victory of the season at the Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine near the border in France, thus extending his lead in the Swiss Rally Championship classification.
The overall leader of the Swiss Rally Championship left no stone unturned in the fourth race of the season, the Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine south of Lake Geneva. Jonathan Hirschi and his co-driver Michaël Volluz set off like the fire department and set the fastest time among all Swiss participants on each of the special stages on the first day.
Optimal start to the second half of the season
On the second day of the rally, the driver from Neuchâtel was again in the lead in the first stage. Only on the 9th and 14th SS did Hirschi briefly give way to the competition. In the overall classification, the best Swiss duo finished in 13th place out of 164 competitors (209 started).
With his second win of the season (after the Rally di Alba) at the wheel of a VW Polo GTI, he extended his lead in the overall standings. After four out of six rallies, the 36-year-old from Cernier is in the lead with 141 points.
Jonathan Hirschi: "I'm very pleased. To start the second half of the season with a win is of course an ideal thing. We had a few small problems, but nothing that could really stop us from pulling away at the front."
The master thought about quitting
Second place among the almost 20 Swiss participants in the field of modern rally cars went to Mike Coppens and co-driver Christophe Roux. The reigning champion was 1:13.3 min behind winner Hirschi at the finish.
The switch back to a Skoda Fabia (gallery left) paid off for Coppens. Coppens feels he is in good hands with Team Balbosca. However, the man from Verbier did not come close to Hirschi.
Mike Coppens: "The good thing about this rally was that I no longer had any self-doubt. I had mused so much about driving in the last few rallies with the Citroën that I said to myself: If this doesn't get better, I'll stop rallying."
SM fight of the chasers
For Jonathan Michellod and co-driver Stéphane Fellay, the rally in a Skoda Fabia R5 (gallery right) ended in 3rd place, one minute behind Coppens. Two inexplicable punctures cost a lot of time, otherwise his SS times were good.
In the championship, Michellod was able to maintain second place behind Hirschi, but with 122 points now only has a cushion of 14 points on Coppens. However, only the best five of six possible results will be counted in the end.
Preliminary decision for the juniors
Behind the top 3, Sergio Pinto in his Alpine A110 RGT (lower gallery, left) finished fourth, as expected. In the Trophée Alpine Elf Rally, which is dominated by the French, the Swiss was fourth best in the end.
Fifth place went to Nicolas Lathion in a Renault Clio Rally4. Sixth place went to Ismaël Vuistiner in a Clio Rally5, 3.5 seconds behind after more than 180 kilometers driven.
Guillaume Girolamo (lower gallery, right) has already been crowned junior champion. The Valais native finished seventh overall. Girolamo narrowly missed out on victory in the Clio Trophy Swiss. At the finish, he was 5.7 seconds behind winner Vuistiner.
Swiss VHC Overall Winner
In the historic group, Marc Vallicioni in a BMW M30 E30 not only drove to first place in the Swiss classification, but the Corsican, who has made Fully his home, also ended up as the winner of the entire VHC field. Second best Swiss was Guy Trolliet in a Porsche 911 SC ahead of Eddy Bérard in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.
The overall victory in the Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine, which is mainly part of the French championship, was secured by Yoann Bonato in a Citroën C3 Rally2 (see Overall ranking).
