The members of the ASA Morvan who were not as numerous as the previous week on the competitions, nevertheless added some very beautiful lines to their records.
The great joy of Eloise Duchaine
When the former Dijonnais Philippe Baffoun, now living in Provence, is looking for a co-driver to participate in a rally, he often turns to the ASA Morvan club because he knows he will find the right person there, as the Autun club has many specialists of a very high level. After the rally in Bligny-sur-Ouche where he had enlisted Eloise to co-drive in the Ford Fiesta WRC, Philippe asked her a second time to compete with the Alpine GT+ in the Antibes rally, which was the 3rd round of the French championship. After a very consistent race, the crew finished 14th scratch out of 55 classified and 78 entrants, 4th in the 2-wheel drive category and 2nd in the amateur challenge.
“It’s a great pleasure to drive such a high-performance car. Antibes is a very tough rally with legendary special stages like the Col de Bleine-Mas d’Aiglun, the Col du Turini, the Col de Brauss. In the pace notes, there is no respite, it’s non-stop turns. We barely have time to breathe. My next challenge will be the Rallye des Vins Mâcon with Franck Jovin and then it will be Autun with Philippe.”
There was another member of the ASA Morvan in Antibes, Jean-Luc Torliguian, who held the position of Race Director at the start of a special stage.
Tranquil like Jacky
In the Duchaine family, there is also the father, Jacky, who like his daughter has become a very experienced and highly sought-after co-driver, especially by drivers racing in VHC. To participate in the historic rally of Morocco, which takes place over six days and hundreds of kilometers of special stages in the Atlas Mountains and the desert, the pilot from Aix-en-Provence, Philippe Galland, asked him to accompany him in the Triumph TR7.
As a seasoned investigator of the Moroccan tracks, Jacky carried out his task with all the passion and seriousness he is known for: “During the first stage, on a large stone probably, the steering relay bar was twisted, the car wouldn’t turn right. We finished the stage with the tow truck, and all night long with the assistance, we worked to repair. With the time lost, there was no more question of looking for something in the rankings. We just drove at our own pace, taking great pleasure to finish 28th out of 33 classified and 43 entrants.”
Glory to the Mountain Climbers
Weekends follow one another and resemble each other for Florent Séchepine. A week after Coligny, he participated in the regional race in Azé-Donzy in Mâconnais where he achieved driving his Caterham the same result, namely 2nd scratch of the Production Cars out of 68 classified, 169/1000th behind the winner, and most importantly 1st in the GTTS Group and GTT1 class: “It’s a very good result that counts because I am gaining points for the French Cup.”
Cédric Josserand placed his Peugeot 106 in the 13th scratch position, with the extra of 2nd in the F2000 group and the win in the F2/2 class that he was aiming for. His delicate driving style worked wonders on this very beautiful coast.
Rachel Zeiler finished 66th scratch with the Renault Clio, significantly improving her lap times compared to last year, allowing her to finish 4th in the N3 class and win the Ladies’ Cup.
Local neighbor Didier Chaumont competed in the sports car category with his Nova Proto Honda engine, finishing in 11th place out of 28 classified. He was 2nd in the group and the CN2 class.
There were also two ASA Morvan marshals, Hervé Chevalier and Hervé Petit.
Jean Moncharmont
Photos provided by Eloise and Jacky Duchaine
