Film of the weekend: ‘Whatever the weather...

Film of the weekend: ‘Whatever the weather...

Car racing was back in action this weekend on the Dijon-Prenois circuit. Challenged by the vagaries of the weather, the 362 drivers taking part in this first round of the Historic Tour had to deploy their balancing skills to stay on course and score their first points in the standings. The 21 races of the meeting were all the more hotly contested!

In three weeks' time, the second round of the French Historic Circuit Championship will take place at Charade on 31 May, 1 & 2 June.

THE WEEKEND IN FIGURES

21: the number of races contested.

338: the number of laps covered during the weekend.

2000: the number of spectators present.

332: the number of cars entered in the competition.

WHAT THEY SAID

Laurent VALLERY-MASSON, Director of HVM Racing: ‘It's always special to come together on the legendary Dijon-Prenois circuit to race historic cars. It's the only permanent circuit in France that hasn't seen any changes to its layout since 1972. So it's on a unique terrain that the cars can rediscover the atmosphere and sporting challenges of their modern days’.

Laurent FRESNAIS, 2023 French Champion (GT/Post 90 Touring). First weekend in Formula Ford Historic & Kent: ‘Really great... it's exhilarating because it goes round corners quickly, it's very pleasant, it gives you great sensations, a fabulous chassis, it slides slightly, a good feeling. I was quite surprised to be one of the fastest, which wasn't easy because it was raining, but I managed quite well. This year I'm giving myself the choice of trying out different cars.

Adrien REMY-SPIRE, first meeting in Formula Renault Turbo: ‘What a pleasure to be on the podium for the first races of my motorsport career... The sensations were fantastic and I learnt a lot this weekend. I hope to do better than third place at Charade.

UPDATE ON THE FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIP

On the evening of the first two days of competition on the Historic Tour 2024 and a double race on each of its multiple grids, an initial assessment is taking shape. No fewer than 7 drivers remained unbeaten on the Dijon-Prenois track, collecting 80 points to reward their faultless weekend in the French Historic Circuit Championship. Among them: François BELLE, Josserand DE MURARD and Louis KOLLY left Burgundy as leaders of the Single-Seater/Proto category after having respectively won 1st place on 2 occasions in Formula Ford Historic, Proto Classic and Proto Historic.

In the Pre-1990 GT/Touring category, Philippe GANDINI took sole first place with his double victory in the Maxi 1300 Series Trophy races.

In the Post 1990 GT/Touring category, three drivers stood out, each winning two races in their trophy: Jean-François BESSON in the GT/Classic Trophy, Mathieu RIGOULET in the Roadster Pro Cup and Augustin MOREAU in the Youngtimers GTI Cup.

Last but not least, the French Historic Endurance Championship was led by Jean-Pierre RICHELMI and Philippe GACHE.

THE WEEKEND'S PODIUMS

GT Classic Trophy

Race 1: 1 BESSON Jean-François, 2 MATHIEU S / SMANIOTTO P, 3 BACHELIER Jean-Marc

Race 2: 1 BESSON Jean-François, 2 MILLER Renaud, 3 SMANIOTTO Philippe

Proto Classic

Race 1: 1 DE MURARD Josserand, 2 BERREZAI Didier

Race 2: 1 DE MURARD Josserand, 2 BERREZAI Didier

Formula Ford Kent Trophy

Race 1: 1 VAGLIO-GIORS Christian, 2 CASTILLOU Axel, 3 FRESNAIS Laurent

Race 2: 1 GENECAND Gislain, 2 DOUSSE Arnaud, 3 VAGLIO-GIORS Christian

F3 Classic Trophy

Race 1: 1 VAGLIO-GIORS Christian, 2 NELSON, 3 GERBOUT Pascal

Race 2: 1 ROSSI DI MONTELERA Manfredo, 2 LAJOUX Frédéric, 3 MARTIN Eric

FRenault Classic Trophy (Turbo)

Race 1: 1 MONNET Jean-Charles, 2 MOTTEZ Bruno, 3 REMY-SPIRE Adrien

Race 2: 1 MOTTEZ Bruno, 2 MONNET Jean-Charles, 3 BOITE Pierre

FRenault Classic Trophy (Atmo)

Race 1: 1 RIMBERT Dean, 2 TOMSEN Georges, 3 MONIAT Claude

Race 2: 1. RIMBERT Dean, 2. TOMSEN Georges, 3. MONIAT Claude

Maxi 1300 Series

Race 1: 1 GANDINI Philippe, 2 BARRERE David, 3 PUGET Laurent

Race 2: 1 GANDINI Philippe, 2 BARRERE David, 3 PUGET Laurent

Maxi 2L Classic

Race 1: 1 BENNE Antoine, 2 BELTRAMELLI Viny, 3 KOHLER Damien

Race 2: 1 RICHELMI Jean-Pierre, 2 KOHLER Damien, 3 BENNE Antoine

Youngtimers GTI Cup

Race 1: 1 MOREAU Augustin, 2 AUMARD Fa / AUMARD Fi, 3 MOREL Lois

Race 2: 1 MOREAU Augustin, AUMARD Florent, 3 MOREL Lois

Formula Ford Historic Challenge

Race 1: 1 BELLE François, 2 NELSON, 3 GENECAND Gislain

Race 2: 1 BELLE François, 2 GENECAND Gislain, 3 MICHEL Xavier

Lotus Trophy

Race 1: 1 CAZALOT Florent, 2 DELHAYE Anthony, 3 BELOOU Nicolas

Race 2: 1 BELOOU Nicolas, 2 DELHAYE Anthony, 3 KOENIG Philippe

Racing Over 2L

Race 1: 1 LANGIN Miguel, 2 CALAS Sébastien, 3 DUSAILLY Olivier

Race 2: 1 BRIGAND Emmanuel, 2 ROSSI DI MONTELERA Manfredo, 3 LANGIN Miguel

Proto Historic

Race: 1. KOLLY Louis, 2. FERRIER Patrick, 3. GARSOU Bernard

Race 2: 1. KOLLY Louis, 2. FERRIER Patrick, 3. GARSOU Bernard

Roadster Pro Cup

Race: 1. RIGOULET Mathieu, 2. BOUCHEREAU Bertrand, 3. BLANC Michaël

Race 2: 1. RIGOULET Mathieu, 2. MARTIN Antoine, 3. VISENTIN Mathis

200 KM Historic Tour

Race: 1. RICHELMI / GACHE, 2. GENECAND / MICHEL, 3. QUAGLIOZZI / PIAU

Saloon Cars Trophy (support grid)

Race 1: 1. LEFEBVRE Fabrice, 2. DEROGNAT Alain, 3. DONNET-MONAY Johan

Race 2: 1 LEFEBVRE Fabrice, 2 DONNET-MONAY Johan, 3 DEROGNAT Alain

Superberline 2.0L (guest)

Race 1: 1 SANTOS Paul, 2 GOSSET Philippe, 3 HEBETTE Frédéric

Race 2: 1 GOSSET Philippe, 2 SANTOS Paul, 3 GRAND Frédéric

1300 ETC (guest)

Race 1: 1. THIEFAIN Enzo, 2. DEGNER Bernd, 3. THIEFAIN Thierry

Race 2: 1. FEITEN Jeroen, 2. THIEFAIN Enzo, 3. CASSINA E / CASSINA C

THE CONTINUATION

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

Keep up to date with the Historic Tour on Facebook @Historic Tour and Instagram @hvmracing_.

Media contact: presse@hvmracing.fr