Rallye du Chablais

Locals trust TER Historic category wins in Rallye du Chablais

04.06.2023

 Perroud avenges 2022 while Trolliet takes second consecutive win

 

Technical mountain stages and changing weather conditions were the background of the fourth 2023 TER Historic round. Rallye du Chablais saw several leader changes and battles over seconds.

 

In J1/J2 category, Pascal Perroud, codriven by Quentin Marchand took revenge after last year’s retirement when he was leading. The BMW M3 driver secured victory in the last stage, as his main opponent hit trouble. Rally Storico Valle del Tevere winners “Lucky” and Fabrizia Pons, driving an iconic Lancia Delta Integrale, had snatched the lead after the penultimate test with a series of great stage times; a mechanical failure caused them to lose nearly two minutes and settle for silver but increasing their championship lead. Third place went to Pascal Bachmann and Xavier Machet’s BMW M3. A constant pace and fastest time in SS8 secured the podium for their maiden outing in the newest concept of rally series.

 

Two Spanish crews finished just outside the podium: TER Historic returnee Antonio Sainz, with David De La Puente, took fourth in a Subaru Legacy after a careful second day finishing ahead of the Renault 11 Turbo driven by Carlos Sampayo and Irene Serrano Granda.

 

The Pre81 category was hardly fought: Guy Trolliet and Sébastien Moulin took back-to-back victory on their Porsche 911 SC after a great battle with the Audi Quattro of 2-time European champion Zippo, codriven by Denis Piceno. The Italian crew showed great pace winning three stages but had to retire after a small off. Silver was for the Volkswagen 1302S of James Calvert and James O’Brien. 2-time TER Historic Pre81 champions Tim Metcalfe and John Connor rejoined after being caught out in tricky conditions towards the end of the opening day, to secure the final podium step and an increased advantage in the Series’ standings.

 

The Spanish crew of Fernando Dameto and Sergi Sastre retired their Porsche 911 SC after an accident with no consequences for the crew.


Photo: Baptiste Aebi