Lohéac is the cathedral of rallycross, it isn’t your typical Rallycross France weekend, like Le Mans for the FIA WEC, and this status is confirmed by what the weekend presented, with huge crowds, a mammoth entry list with 35 supercars and action all over the place while the weather was playing its pranks, with Andreas Bakkerud winning on track but losing by a tiny margin due to post race penalties to Andrea Dubourg.
The 35 car count showed how the Lohéac RX attracts the whole World of rallycross, with not only regulars and part-timers from Rallycross France, but also the whole 5 Nations British RX grid, Euro RX1 contenders like René Münnich, Yury Belevskiy and Nils Volland, and current and former World RX drivers like Klara Andersson, Patrick O’Donovan and Andreas Bakkerud.
In Q1, Yury Belevskiy had the benefit of a hefty pace advantage compared to his competition, so he went to the top with nearly 10 seconds ahead, but as the other races went on, it was clear that his position wouldn`t be safe. Klara Andersson eventually stood a second behind the Swiss, but it was in the last race that the pace ramped up, as Andreas Bakkerud, combined with PGRX`s Hyundai i20 RX, showed the talent that gave him the Euro RX1 title and crushed Belevskiy`s time, and given how fast the last race was, his 2:34.050 even brought Fabien Pailler to second while Belevskiy dropped to third.
The light rain between Q1 and Q2 kept the whole field on their toes while also promoting a bit more panel bashing, but those who escaped from major contact thrived in the session and actually flipped the order. Patrick O`Donovan stood out first but his 2:48.117 wasn’t exactly asserting dominance, with Laurent Le Manac’h and Romuald Delaunay doing it better later on. In the end, the top time was clocked by a flawless performance from René Münnich, with his 2:46.153 being proof that the track was getting better as the light rain was gone for the moment and the ideal line was fairly visible.
The Sunday had no rain and a drying track, but the grip was only in the tarmac sections, with the loose surface being incredibly slippery, which makes things difficult as the faster parts of the circuit are in the loose surface areas. Tamas Karai dictated the pace but he was penalized for hitting the bollards at the Joker exit, so Klara Andersson became the reference with 3:04.339, but then other PGRX driver took the top, as Andreas Bakkerud clocked 3:03.321, but Laurent Le Manac’h was braver in the slippery areas and clocked 3:02.904 to top the session, barely ahead of Patrick O’Donovan.
In Q4 the track was totally dry, at least in the ideal line, which favored faster races, with René Münnich asserting dominance with 2:41.875, but Yury Belevskiy was quick to beat him with 2:41.335. only for Fabien Pailler to do way better and clock 2:38.454, bringing Karai with him and leaving Zoltan Koncseg in fourth. With light rain affecting the late races, the top of the order stood as it was.
The intermediate table was topped by Bakkerud with Fabien Pailler and Le Manac’h following him, as the trio had the pace and consistency to stand out from the opposition. Notable mentions go for Münnich in fifth, Koncseg in sixth, Davy Jeanney appearing only in eighth and Klara Andersson being tenth, while Patrick O’Donovan was 12th and Yury Belevskiy staying in 14th.
Notable eliminations include Tristan Ovenden, who was finding pace in Q3 and Q4 but failed to pass Andrea Benezet, along with Jonathan Pailler, Damien Meunier and David Vincent, while Ollie O’Donovan had terminal mechanical problems in his Proton Iriz RX, which ended the campaign in Q1.
The first Semifinal had a rocket start from Belevskiy and a lot of bump and barge amid the damp asphalt and slippery dirt. Fabien Pailler opted to keep the lead as the rest of the field was all over him, which meant that he and Belevskiy were in danger in the Joker lap carrousel. Once Belevskiy did his Joker, Andersson took second place, but the Swiss took the position back by force, and with Andersson boxed and losing pace, Benezet and Jeanney took positions 3 and 4 while Fabien Pailler won and Belevskiy settled for second.
Bakkerud was the clear favorite of the second Semifinal, and Andrea Dubourg did exactly what Belevskiy did in the first Semi, although he settled for third place and held Karai while Nils Volland and Münnich were on the chase. Volland took the Joker on Lap 4 and the move paid dividends, as the German was sent to third once Le Manac’h had problems and slowed down. Bakkerud won the race comfortably, while Dubourg defended the second position until the end, with Volland and Münnich outsmarting the opposition for third and fourth.
The sun came back for the Final, but Münnich wasn’t that fortunate as he had a false start. When the second start happened, Dubourg tried to press Pailler and Bakkerud but settled for third while preparing the next attack, followed by Belevskiy. On Lap 4, Pailler decided to use brute force on Bakkerud, the perfect opportunity for Dubourg to Joker, but after Lap 5, Pailler fell victim of Dubourg, and the battle gave enough cushion for Bakkerud to apply maximum pace and open the gap to secure the win without a shadow of doubt.
The problem came after the Final, as Andreas Bakkerud was penalized after the race with five seconds due to track limit infringement, promoting Dubourg to first by only 0.752 seconds.
Rallycross France - Lohéac event results
Jeanney keeps the lead in the standings with 192 points, Damien Meunier is second with 143 and Jonathan Pailler is third with 138. The season continues on 14 September with the penultimate round at Mayenne.
PHOTO: DA Racing
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