Antoine Margely and Francois-Xavier Delabarre took command right from the start in the R1 class, kicking off with the fastest time. Running in a surprising second place were Dorian Delagne and Romain Garel, while Matthieu and Wilfrid Tarif went off the road. The exits continued in SS3 when Maxime Goetz/Fabien Janssens and Theo Chalal/Jonathan Sponem – two crews with their eyes on the podium – both crashed out, with Chalal suffering whiplash and requiring hospital treatment.

Day two saw a fierce fight for victory between Margely and Delagne, who went fastest in three of the day’s first four specials to move to within eight seconds of the leader. And though Delagne pulled out another fastest time in the final special, he was powerless to prevent Margely scoring a second win in three races to stretch his points lead. Taking the third and final place on the podium were Aurelien Lafont and Aurelien Verdenet, with Alexandre Cosson/Matthieu Chartier fourth and Romain Auvert/Maxime Belivier fifth.

Overall leaders in the Renault Sport Challenge R2 class, Georges and Valerie Gonon made an impressive start before Jordan Mottard and Thierry Devaux moved into the lead from Marvin Sorin and Karine Moinet after the second special. Mottard went off in SS4, however, leaving Sorin in the lead, which he held through to the day’s end from Sylvain Alanore, competing as a non-registered driver in a Twingo R2, with Gonon lying fourth.

Sorin consolidated his lead the following morning, with Gonon moving into the top three and closing to within 15 seconds of second place with two specials remaining. Yet there were two twists in the tale remaining, as Gonon went off in SS11 and the unfortunate Sorin suffered a breakdown in the very last stage, all of which meant that, for the first time this season, not a single crew finished the R2 race. Following his crash, Georges Gonon was taken to hospital with bruising and back pain.

Pascal and Caroline Berard maintained the consistent form they have shown this season by moving into an early second place in the R3/N4 class, while Mickael Reydellet/Thomas Chauffray were forced to retire in the first special with mechanical problems. After surging into third, Anthony Cosson and Anne-Sophie Nourry then closed in on Berard, eventually relieving him of second and ending the first day less than a second off the lead.

Cosson’s race was run in the first loop on day two, when he went off, allowing Berard to retake second place. Running in third, Laurent Lacomy and Emmanuel Chene then came into contention, heaping the pressure on Pascal and Caroline Berard and ending SS8 a mere tenth of a second adrift. The battle raged right till the end, with Lacomy eventually clinching second in the R3/N4 standings and fifth overall in the final special, while Berard had the consolation of securing his third podium finish in four races.

Rallye National de Bretagne: Renault Sport Challenge results
R3/N4 class
2. Anthony Cosson – Anne-Sophie Nourry (Renault Mégane R.S. N4) 1:11:26:2
3. Pascal Bérard – Caroline Bérard (Renault Clio R.S. R3) 1:11:28:6

R1 class
1. Antoine Margely – François-Xavier Delabarre 1:16:08.4
2. Dorian Delagne – Romain Garel 1:16:12:5
3. Aurélien Lafont – Aurélien Verdenet 1:17:49:9
4. Alexandre Cosson – Matthieu Chartier 1:19:50:2
6. Romain Auvert – Maxime Bélivier 1:23:41:7

Renault Sport Challenge standings after the Rallye National de Bretagne
R3/N4 class
1. Laurent Lacomy 69 points
2. Pascal Bérard 57 points
3. Jérôme Chavanne 36 points
4. Mickaël Reydellet 27 points
5. Boris Carminati 25 points
5. Anthony Cosson 25 points …

R2 class
1. Georges Gonon 68 points
2. William Pitot 63 points
3. Marvin Sorin 37 points
4. Jordan Mottard 33 points …

R1 class
1. Antoine Margely 68 points
2. Romain Auvert 45 points
3. Nicolas Renchet 43 points
4. Aurélien Lafont 40 points
4. Théo Chalal 40 points
6. Emilien Sanlaville 27 points
6. Alexandre Cosson 27 points…

Photo DA