F3/FR Historic Tour Charade - Report

Stage 2 - Historic Tour Charade |31 May, 1 & 2 June 2024

Indian winter...

The French Historic Circuit Championship returned to the Auvergne track for its second meeting of the season. On such a selective track, the 21 drivers did their utmost to come out on top!

Qualifying:

On Saturday morning, just as the sky stopped crying for a session, qualifying got underway. In F3, Frenchman Eric Martin took pole position with a time of 1'56.243, three tenths ahead of Xavier Michel and his time of 1'56.609, himself 5 tenths ahead of Italian Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera.

In Formula Renault, the Turbos saw Lionel Robert make a striking comeback with the fastest time of 2'01.694, just 0.066 seconds ahead of Jean-Charles Monnet. Adrien Remy-Spire followed in third place with a time of 2'06.011. In the Atmo category, Benoit Bagur took first place with a time of 2'05.328, 6 tenths ahead of Belgian Dean Rimbert. Alain Quere was third in 2'11.516.

Race 1:

Following technical checks after qualifying practice, Carlos Antunes Tavares, Jean-Michel Ogier, Christian Vaglio Giors and Frédéric Lajoux were downgraded and demoted to the back of the grid for the start of Race 1. At the start, the 4 men rushed back to the front as quickly as possible to get back into the competition. In Formula Renault, Adrien Remy-Spire got off to a good start but dropped his foot at Turn 1 to avoid a collision with Benoit Bagur. Laurent Vallery-Masson was taken out by Christian Vaglio-Giors and lost positions. He then began his comeback behind Alexandre Faucher. Benoit Bagur dominated his battle with Dean Rimbert, while behind him Alain Quere battled with Adrien Remy-Spire. In the lead, Eric Martin extended his lead ahead of Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera. Christian Vaglio-Giors was penalised with a drive through for unsporting behaviour. Frédéric Lajoux caught up with Italian Manfredo for second place and overtook him with 5 laps to go. Eric Martin took the lead. Laurent Vallery-Masson got rid of Alexandre Faucher in sector 2 and caught up with Roberto Nale.  At the end of the race, Adrien Remy-Spire overtook Dean Rimbert, who was having trouble with his gearbox and was being pulled away by Benoit Bagur. Alain Quere, who was just behind, made a mistake and hit the wall. Eric Martin dominated the race, finishing 8 seconds ahead of Frédéric Lajoux, well ahead of Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera. In the Formula Renault Turbos, Lionel Robert finished ahead of Jean-Charles Monnet and Adrien Remy-Spire, while Benoit Bagur won the race in the Atmos category ahead of Belgian Dean Rimbert and Alain Quere.

F3 Classic: 1 Eric Martin, 2 Frédéric Lajoux, 3 Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera

FR Turbo Classic: 1 Lionel Robert, 2 Jean-Charles Monnet, 3 Adrien Remy-Spire

FR Atmo Classic: 1. Benoit Bagur, 2. Dean Rimbert, 3. Alain Quere

Race 2:

The following day, after a rainy Grid Walk, many Formula Renault drivers changed their strategy and opted for rain tyres, while the F3s stayed on slicks. Christian Vaglio-Giors got off to a superb start before spinning out. Frédéric Lajoux took the lead, 3 tenths ahead of Eric Martin. Carlos Antunes Tavares was trapped in sector 3 just ahead of Benoit Bagur and Adrien Remy-Spire. The two men narrowly avoided it. Lionel Robert began a series of overtakes, at ease with his rain tyres. Eric Martin took over the lead on the second lap before giving way to Lionel Robert, who set a series of fastest lap times. Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera moved up to 5th place in his F3 after starting from the back row. Benoit Bagur is gaining ground and beginning his climb towards the frontrunners. In the Formula Renault Turbos, Adrien Remy-Spire increased the pace and caught up with Jean-Charles Monnet, who was struggling with his slicks. Laurent Vallery-Masson, between these two men, shifted his position so as not to interfere with the battle. Benoit Bagur, Alexandre Faucher and Roberto Nale battled it out on the track. Adrien Remy-Spire and Jean-Charles Monnet battled it out for several laps, passing each other several times and neck and neck for second place. Ian Jacob crashed on the descent and retired with three laps to go, bringing out a yellow flag in sector 2 for the final three laps. Lionel Robert won the scratch race ahead of Eric Martin, first in F3, followed by the same trio as the day before with Frédéric Lajoux and Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera. In the Formula Renault Turbos, the final time was just 0.018 seconds apart, with Jean-Charles Monnet holding on to second place ahead of Adrien Remy-Spire. In the Atmos class, Benoit Bagur took first place, alone in his category after the retirement of his rivals, and 6th overall. 

F3 Classic: 1 Eric Martin, 2 Frédéric Lajoux, 3 Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera

FR Turbo Classic: 1. Lionel Robert, 2. Jean-Charles Monnet, 3. Adrien Remy-Spire

FR Atmo Classic: 1. Benoit Bagur

THE CONTINUATION

Round #3: Historic Tour de Magny-Cours, 5-6 & 7 July.

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Media contact: presse@hvmracing.fr