More than 110 crews at the start of the 7th rally of the Saint-Affricain region

Jordan Berfa (à d.), quadruple vainqueur du rallye, remet son titre en jeu à bord d’une Huyndai I20 JMC

Aujourd’hui, reconnaissances du parcours pour les concurrents. De 14 h 30 à 19 h 15, vérifications techniques et administratives à la salle des fêtes de Roquefort. Demain, c’est la course !

Tomorrow, the engines of the 113 competitors in the 7th regional car rally of the Saint-Affricain region will roar on the small roads. The event is organized by the Saint-Affrique Racing Team (Start) association and the South Aveyron Automobile Sports Association. Of the 113 competitors registered, there are 95 in the modern category (recent vehicles) and 18 in the Historic Competition Vehicle (HCV).

“A stable number compared to previous years”, notes Bruno Félix, co-president of Start. The four-time winner of the event, Jordan Berfa, from Mazamet, in the Tarn, is putting his title on the line. He will be aboard a Hyundai I20 with Patrick Benne as co-driver.

“The fight is going to be great between the first three”, announces Yannick Jammes, co-president of Start. Among the contenders, there should be Cyril Audirac from Auvergne, in a Skoda Fabia, but also Anthony Puppo from Nice in a Hyundai I20.

Several crews from South Aveyron will be at the start. Cédric Milhau, from Belmont-sur-Rance, with Benoît Serres, from Pousthomy, will be aboard a Peugeot 205. Millavois Philippe Lescure and Pascal Plagnard, on a Honda Civic, will be in the race, as will Damien and Frédéric Vincent, from the Cavalerie, on a Citroën Saxo.

An unchanged course

On the VHC side, Dominique Roques and Vincent Gineste, on a Porsche 911, will be at the start. As will the 2023 winners, Thierry Marcobal and Mathieu Descharne, on a BMW M3. The race PC is set up in the village hall with Patrick Bouteiller as director.

Concerning the rally part, the route is unchanged compared to last year with two special stages to be covered twice. The first is between Les Costes-Gozon and Le Truel (8.5 km).

The second is located between the Gos Valley (start near Salvagnac) and Vabres-l'Abbaye (11.5 km). To see the competitors in complete safety, four public areas are planned, two on each special.

The program

Today, official reconnaissance from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. From 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., administrative and technical checks at the Roquefort function room. The first cars return to the closed park of the Saint-Affrique public garden from 3 p.m. Tomorrow, at 9 a.m., at the public garden, departure of the first modern category car (at 8:30 a.m., for historic competition vehicles). 9:05 a.m., arrival at the service park at the old Bayol stadium at La Gravière. 9:53 a.m., departure of the first special stage Les Costes-Gozon le Truel (one departure every two minutes). 11:11 a.m., departure of the special stage from Segonzac and return to the public garden from 11:41 a.m. 12:50 p.m., departure from the public garden and entry at 12:55 p.m. to the service park at La Gravière. 2:13 p.m., start of the Costes-Gozons special. 3:31 p.m., start of the Segonzac special. &From 4:05 p.m., entry to the closed park of the public garden and awards ceremony on the podium.

"Red zone, it's forbidden"

On the first special, a zone is set up at the crossroads of La Roque (refreshments and catering), with access via the Baldagou road from the Saint-Victor plateau. The second zone is located at Le Pialou, near La Romiguière.

On the second special, a public zone is located at La Saussayre, with access via the D 999 via the place called Brousse. The second is at Roqueblanque, with access via Le Cambon. On each special, the passage of competitors should last around two hours. In terms of security, the two co-presidents of Start are calling on the public "to respect the signs and the plots of land belonging to local residents."  Which can be summed up as follows: "Red zone, it's forbidden. Green zone, it's allowed." On the organization side, the rally is 70 volunteers, 53 stewards, 84 officials.

Information on the Sportity application with the code RRPSA2024, but also on Facebook and the site (https://sites.google.com/view/rallye-du-pays-st-affricain).

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