10/11/2008 //
RALLY - FRENCH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUND 7: CRITERIUM DES CÉVENNES - FIRST WIN FOR LUDOVIC GAL (PEUGEOT/BFGOODRICH)
French Rally Championship
Round 7: Criterium des Cévennes
November 7-8, 2008
FIRST WIN FOR LUDOVIC GAL (PEUGEOT/BFGOODRICH)
After coming close to victory on the Rallye du Mont-Blanc, Ludovic Gal's second attempt to take the spoils in a French Championship round with his Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich ended up paying dividends in the Cévennes Mountains. Eric Brunson (Subaru/BFGoodrich) continues to top the championship standings, however, with one event remaining (the Rallye du Var at the end of November). Victory in the 2008 Trophée BFGoodrich has gone to Arnaud Augoyard (Peugeot/BFGoodrich).
After narrowly failing to win September's Rallye du Mont-Blanc, Ludovic Gal stood his ground this time round to collect his first French Championship success on the 2008 Criterium des Cévennes.
A field of more than 200 starters turned up for this classic November fixture in the Cévennes Mountains. The region's narrow, twisty and slippery stages make the 'Criterium' an awesome challenge, while the traditional night-time loop adds a certain touch of magic to the occasion.
The weather in this part of the south of France was reasonably mild for once and the BFGoodrich runners all chose the dry weather g-Force Profiler for Friday's morning's tests. Ludovic Gal (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich) emerged as the early leader ahead of Guillaume Canivenq (Peugeot 207 S2000/BFGoodrich) and local driver Jean-François Mourgues (Peugeot 206 WRC/BFGoodrich), winner of this event in 2001. Eric Brunson (Subaru/BFGoodrich) and Dany Snobeck (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich) both opted for more cautious starts.
Canivenq went off at the start of the second leg, allowing Olivier Marty (Renault Maxi Mégane), to win the weekend's Trophée BFGoodrich classification, although overall victory in this competition went to Arnaud Augoyard (Peugeot 306 Maxi) who finished seventh in the Cévennes.
The 2008 French title will be decided on the Rallye du Var at the end of the month. Eric Brunson and Dany Snobeck, who were respectively fourth and fifth this weekend, can still hope to take the crown.
Final positions:
1. Gal/De Turckheim (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich), 2h 8m 26.8s
2. Mourgues/Pratlong (Peugeot 206 WRC/BFGoodrich), +1m 15.7s
3. Marty/Martin (Renault Maxi Mégane/BFGoodrich), +1m 56.7s
4. Brunson/Mondon (Subaru Impreza WRC/BFGoodrich), +2m 8.1s
5. Snobeck/Mondesir (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich), +2m 16.8s
../
Round 7: Criterium des Cévennes
November 7-8, 2008
FIRST WIN FOR LUDOVIC GAL (PEUGEOT/BFGOODRICH)
After coming close to victory on the Rallye du Mont-Blanc, Ludovic Gal's second attempt to take the spoils in a French Championship round with his Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich ended up paying dividends in the Cévennes Mountains. Eric Brunson (Subaru/BFGoodrich) continues to top the championship standings, however, with one event remaining (the Rallye du Var at the end of November). Victory in the 2008 Trophée BFGoodrich has gone to Arnaud Augoyard (Peugeot/BFGoodrich).
After narrowly failing to win September's Rallye du Mont-Blanc, Ludovic Gal stood his ground this time round to collect his first French Championship success on the 2008 Criterium des Cévennes.
A field of more than 200 starters turned up for this classic November fixture in the Cévennes Mountains. The region's narrow, twisty and slippery stages make the 'Criterium' an awesome challenge, while the traditional night-time loop adds a certain touch of magic to the occasion.
The weather in this part of the south of France was reasonably mild for once and the BFGoodrich runners all chose the dry weather g-Force Profiler for Friday's morning's tests. Ludovic Gal (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich) emerged as the early leader ahead of Guillaume Canivenq (Peugeot 207 S2000/BFGoodrich) and local driver Jean-François Mourgues (Peugeot 206 WRC/BFGoodrich), winner of this event in 2001. Eric Brunson (Subaru/BFGoodrich) and Dany Snobeck (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich) both opted for more cautious starts.
Canivenq went off at the start of the second leg, allowing Olivier Marty (Renault Maxi Mégane), to win the weekend's Trophée BFGoodrich classification, although overall victory in this competition went to Arnaud Augoyard (Peugeot 306 Maxi) who finished seventh in the Cévennes.
The 2008 French title will be decided on the Rallye du Var at the end of the month. Eric Brunson and Dany Snobeck, who were respectively fourth and fifth this weekend, can still hope to take the crown.
Final positions:
1. Gal/De Turckheim (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich), 2h 8m 26.8s
2. Mourgues/Pratlong (Peugeot 206 WRC/BFGoodrich), +1m 15.7s
3. Marty/Martin (Renault Maxi Mégane/BFGoodrich), +1m 56.7s
4. Brunson/Mondon (Subaru Impreza WRC/BFGoodrich), +2m 8.1s
5. Snobeck/Mondesir (Peugeot 307 WRC/BFGoodrich), +2m 16.8s
../