F3/FR Historic Tour Nogaro| Report

Qualifying:

On Friday, the drivers took part in qualifying on a dry track with a few traps after the morning showers. In Formula 3, Swiss driver Christian Vaglio-Giors took pole position with a time of 1'32.075 in his March 783, just 27 thousandths of a second ahead of Monaco's Frédéric Lajoux and his March 793 in 1'32.102. Philippe Gache, back in Formula 3, took third place with his March 763 in 1'32.545.

In the Formula Renault Turbo category, Jean-Charles Monnet set the fastest time in class and sixth overall in 1'36.353 with his Martini MK48, ahead of Adrien Remy-Spire and his Martini MK48 in 1'42.422. In the Formula Renault Atmo class, Dean Rimbert was quickest in his Orion FR89 in 1'38.358, ahead of Benoît Bagur in his Martini MK63 in 1'45.892 and Belgium's Georges Tomsen in 1'47.648

Race 1:

The following day, the race took place in sunshine and on a dry track. Despite this, the start was chaotic at Turn 2, with Eric Martin making a mistake and damaging his front wing on another competitor's car. The peloton tried to avoid the cars in the way. In the lead, Frédéric Lajoux got off to a very good start ahead of Christian Vaglio-Giors. On the second lap, Jean-Michel Ogier and Bernard Lacour got into a tangle and ended up on the grass in the Caupenne bend. The former restarted quickly while the latter, who had stalled, took longer. Behind the two frontrunners, Pierre Merche and Jean-Charles Monnet followed in their Martini MK48 at a blistering pace. Jean-Michel Ogier began his comeback and was given a drive-through penalty for unsporting behaviour, while Xavier Michel was forced to retire. Eric Martin, back in the pits, started without his right moustache and began his comeback. In the middle of the field, Adrien Remy-Spire broke away from Belgian rider Georges Tomsen and tried to extend his lead. Bernard Lacour caught up with these two men. Up front, Jean-Charles Monnet was 3rd overall and made a remarkable start to the race. With 7 laps to go, Michael Conway retired, followed by Dean Rimbert the next lap. Towards the end of the race, Swiss driver Christian Vaglio-Giors dropped down the pace due to a slow puncture, leaving Frédéric Lajoux to escape alone in the lead. Jean-Charles Monnet, who also suffered a puncture, lost pace and positions overall. Frédéric Lajoux won by a wide margin ahead of Eric Martin, who nevertheless made a superb comeback following his collision on the first lap. Swiss driver Christian Vaglio-Giors completed the podium. In Formula Renault Turbo, Jean-Charles Monnet finished ahead of Adrien Remy-Spire, while Georges Tomsen took victory ahead of Benoît Bagur in Formula Renault Atmo.

F3 Classic: 1 Frédéric LAJOUX, 2 Eric MARTIN, 3 Christian VAGLIO-GIORS

FRenault Turbo Classic: 1 Jean-Charles MONET, 2 Adrien REMY-SPIRE

FRenault Atmo Classic: 1 Georges TOMSEN, 2 Benoît BAGUR

Race 2:

On Sunday, as the rain fell just before Race 2, the drivers put on their rain tyres after two formation laps. At the start, Frédéric Lajoux moved to the inside and Christian Vaglio-Giors followed him to take second place from Eric Martin. Matthieu Chateaux, replacing Jean-Michel Ogier in the Ralt RT3, started last and began his comeback. Meanwhile, Eric Martin was trying to stay as close as possible to Christian Vaglio-Giors in order to launch an attack. Pierre Merche was forced to pit again because of a fault with his rain light. Eric Martin, already in second place, caught up with Monegasque Frédéric Lajoux, while Jean-Charles Monnet took 6th place overall. The track was drying out more and more and the drivers were trying to cool their tyres as much as possible on the wet surfaces. On the 7th lap of the race, Laurent Bayers stopped and retired. Christian Vaglio-Giors was within 2 seconds of the lead and was doing his utmost to catch up. In the peloton, Jean-Charles Monnet spun at the halfway point and set off again, while Bernard Lacour and Pierre Merche battled it out. At the front, Eric Martin and Frédéric Lajoux battled it out for the top step of the podium. Adrien Remy-Spire, who had been struggling since the start, was forced to pit again to sort out a turbo problem. He restarted in last place and set a personal best time on the final lap. Frédéric Lajoux won the race in his March 793, just 2 tenths of a second ahead of Eric Martin. Matthieu Chateaux finished third after Christian Vaglio-Giors was given a 20-second penalty for failing to keep to the racing line. In the Formula Renault Turbo class, Jean-Charles Monnet won ahead of Adrien Remy-Spire. In the Atmo class, Benoît Bagur won ahead of Belgium's Georges Tomsen.

F3 Classic: 1 Frédéric LAJOUX, 2 Eric MARTIN, 3 Matthieu CHATEAUX

FRenault Turbo Classic: 1 Jean-Charles MONET, 2 Adrien REMY-SPIRE

FRenault Atmo Classic: 1. Benoît BAGUR, 2. Georges TOMSEN