F3/FR Historic Tour Dijon | Report

Whatever the weather...

In the Côte d'Or, the French Championship returns to a circuit it has used almost exclusively since its creation in 2015. Appreciated for the technicality and speed of its layout, immortalised by the French F1 GPs, it is generally unanimously acclaimed by the drivers. On the F3/FR Classic grid, 21 drivers will be competing this weekend, including a novice whose very first race is the number 49 entered in the Formula Renault Turbo, Adrien Remy-Spire.

Qualifying:

Qualifying took place on Friday under a shy sun and on a dry track at the end of the day. In F3, Italian Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera (Ralt RT3) took pole with a time of 1'21.291, two tenths ahead of Xavier Michel (Chevron B38) in 1'21.493 and seven tenths ahead of Monegasque Frédéric Lajoux (March 793) and his time of 1'22.012.

In the Formula Renault Turbos, Jean-Charles Monnet (Martini MK48) set the fastest time of 1'24.049, ahead of Burgundy's Bruno Mottez (Martini MK51) who set the second fastest time on home soil in 1'25.497, followed by Adrien Remy-Spire (Martini MK48) in 1'26.567. In the Atmos category, Belgium's Dean Rimbert (Orion FR89) will start in first place with a time of 1'29.764, ahead of his compatriot Georges Tomsen (Martini MK65) who is just two seconds behind in 1'31.613, followed by France's Benoit Bagur (Martini MK63) in 1'33.494.

Race 1:

After a smooth start on a damp track, the 5 frontrunners engaged in a superb battle that will live long in the memory. Xavier Michel lost his car on the way up the bowl and went off the track. Pascal Gerbout, who got off to a superb start, dominated at the end of the first lap, followed by Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera and Frédéric Lajoux. Christian Vaglio-Giors missed his start and lost positions. British driver Ian Jacobs contained the attacks of Jean-Charles Monnet, who dominated the Formula Renault Turbo ahead of Bruno Mottez, in 7th and 8th respectively ahead of a number of F3s. After a pit stop to check his car after it went off the track, Xavier Michel returned to the track in the middle of the leading pack. Despite the blue flags hoisted over him, he continued the battle and kept his position. He was given a Stop and Go for failing to respect the blue flag. On the third lap, Manfredo was in the lead ahead of Pascal Gerbout, Frédéric Lajoux, Eric Martin and Nelson. The clan of 5 is forming! Pascal Gerbout and Frédéric Lajoux had a minor tussle in this battle, but it was not serious.

The Monegasque then took the lead of the race before the Italian caught up with him and narrowly escaped. Eric Martin, who was battling for the podium, went off the track during a duel with Pascal Gerbout and lost positions. Christian Vaglio-Giors gradually made up ground. In Formula Renault Atmo, Dean Rimbert was alone in the lead, ahead of Georges Tomsen and Claude Moniat. Frédéric Lajoux made up ground on the Italian lap after lap. At the finish, Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera was leading Frédéric Lajoux. However, due to a leak in the airbox, these 2 drivers were downgraded. It was Swiss driver Christian Vaglio-Giors in his March 783 who came out on top, ahead of Nelson and Pascal Gerbout. In Formula Renault Turbo, Jean-Charles Monnet took 1st place in his class ahead of Bruno Mottez and Adrien Remy-Spire, on the podium in his first race. In the Atmo class, Dean Rimbert won without any problems ahead of another Belgian, Georges Tomsen, and Frenchman Claude Moniat.

Race 2:

The following day, on a dry track, the Italian Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera and the Monegasque Frédéric Lajoux, who had started from the back of the grid following the previous day's downgrading, began a mad comeback. Xavier Michel also got off to a very good start, and the three men were in the top 8 by the end of the first lap! Adrien Remy-Spire also got off to a good start in the Formula Renault Turbo, staying in touch with Bruno Mottez before being forced to pull out of the pitlane to narrowly avoid the F3 of Bernard Lacour, who crashed out at Turn 1 on the second lap of the race. Both men started from the back of the grid. After cleaning his tyres, the 23-year-old put in a series of laps and climbed back up to third place in his class, while Bernard Lacour climbed back up to 10th place. Italian Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera drove a remarkable race to claim victory ahead of Monegasque Frédéric Lajoux, with Frenchman Eric Martin completing the podium. 

In Formula Renault Turbo, Jean-Charles Monnet (1st) and Adrien Remy-Spire (3rd) were penalised 30 seconds for a technical non-conformity of their fuel nozzles, which gave victory to Bruno Mottez and 3rd place to Pierre Boite. In the atmo class, Dean Rimbert took the lead, ahead of Georges Tomsen and Claude Moniat.

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

FR Turbo Classic: 1 Bruno Mottez, 2 Jean-Charles Monnet, 3 Pierre Boite

FR Atmo Classic: 1 Dean Rimbert, 2 Georges Tomsen, 3 Claude Moniat

THE CONTINUATION

Round #2: Historic Tour de Charade, 31 May, 1 & 2 June.

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