Leg 2: Saunier drops back
- Julien Hergault
- Oct 8
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 9
The Tour de Corse Historique has only just entered its second day and a major event has already hit the event: Julien Saunier, last year's winner and one of the contenders for victory, is out of contention.
Already in the lead at the end of Tuesday after only two special stages, Bertrand Fassio, co-driven by Jean-François de Montredon, confirmed his leadership on Wednesday, October 8. The duo arrived in Ajaccio with a comfortable 27-second lead. This advantage was gained over the opening 130 kilometers, with over 250 timed kilometers still to come in this 2025 edition of the Tour de Corse Historique. “A 27-second lead is good, but we'd like more,” says Bertrand Fassio. The day got off to a great start, we set the record for the Notre-Dame-de-la-Serra / Fango special stage in VHC. In all, we've won four out of the seven special stages since the start. I have to admit it's a bit like a dream come true, for the moment I'm ahead of the Corsicans (laughs)."
In SS7, which is so demanding for both VHC and VHRS cars, the driver lost time. A slight bump at the rear followed by a slightly long restart (the Porsche stalled) cost him around 20 seconds. "Without this mistake, we would have a much more comfortable lead. Fortunately, there wasn't too much damage, and the team will repair it tonight. We'll see tomorrow, the roadmap looks to be similar to today's." Bertrand Fassio's third participation is off to a great start, with a sixth place finish as his best result (in 2024, in a BMW M3).
The mistake in SS7 benefited Marc Valliccioni and Christophe Hochet. In their BMW M3, they ended a solid day in close contact with the leaders. With the exception of the first SS of the day, in which Bertrand Fassio and Jean-François de Montredon dominated, they were always close behind. They conceded 4 seconds in SS4, 1 second in SS5, were tied in SS6, and gained 21 seconds in SS7. They are clearly on a strong run. The Corsican driver, twice French VHC champion, is celebrating his reunion with his co-driver Christophe Hochet, with whom he is competing this season and who he hasn't driven with for 27 years!
In 3rd place, Olivier Capanaccia and Mathieu Tyran dropped one place in 24 hours, but with only 41 seconds separating them, nothing is decided yet. Pascal Trojani and Jean-Noël Vesperini are also worth mentioning. Trojani, who won the 2009 edition in a Peugeot 307 WRC, is a convincing rookie.
The major event was the difficulties encountered by the Julien Saunier/Frédéric Vauclare crew. Their Renault 5 Maxi Turbo was a real head-turner, but the mechanics proved to be capricious. Vauclare explains: "It's the steering column that's causing the problem. It's been stiff since the start. When you turn the wheel, the steering can lock up for no reason. In SS5, it became unmanageable.“ Julien Saunier is stunned, but remains philosophical. ”We'll try to fix it. We also found the problem that had been slowing us down since the start of the rally, an issue with the engine rpm sensor. Tomorrow, everything will be fine to get back on the road. Now we're going to chase down the fastest times." Their motivation remains intact and they are keen to continue driving the R5 on the legendary roads of Corsica. Of course, having missed SS7, the duo will be penalized, which means they will no longer be able to aim for the overall victory.
VHC Classification
Fassio / de Montredon (Porsche 911 SC No. 10) in 1h26’10’’
Valliccioni / Hochet (BMW M3 No. 16) at 27’’
Capanaccia / Tyran (BMW M3 No. 9) at 41’’
Trojani / Vesperini (BMW M3 No. 11) at 1’45’’
Gache / Prevot (Porsche 930 No. 4) at 2’03’’
Un début de rallye intense avec des écarts minimes
After Tuesday's warm-up, today's 100 km run, divided into five ZRs, saw some changes in the standings. Julien and Fleur Pujols, who were the sole leaders last night, dropped to 7th place overall (46 points). They conceded ten points to the new leaders, Lionel Garnier (who is celebrating his 60th birthday today) and Bertrand Triffault. With 66 passes at 0 on the first 100 intermediate sections of the rally, they are the current benchmark. “This morning, the three initial ZRs gave us some fairly fast sections, but then it got a bit more complicated,” said Bertrand Triffault. “Everyone saw that ZR6 was complex, and then ZR7 was also a tough one, with more than 28 kilometers. We made a few mistakes, but nothing major. Anyway, I can see that the level is quite high. On a leg like ZR7, a lot of crews would usually have picked up 40 points. Here, it’s very close.” Indeed, you have to go as far as 36th place to find the first crew with a 100-point gap after the first nine ZRs covered. In 2024, the first competitor with 100 points was in 24th place at the end of day 2.
Thomas and Marc Jay are only two points behind Garnier/Triffault. Their Lancia Fulvia, number 444, entered by the Carzilla team - which is racing for the charity Espoir contre le cancer - is very comfortable on the roads of Corsica. Thomas, who finished 6th in 2023 and is competing in the Corsican race only for the second time, can rely on his father Marc for fine-tuned assistance. Marc has competed in 13 consecutive Tour Auto events (with four victories) and is now starting his 5th Tour de Corse Historique. "It was a long day! The highlight was ZR6, as it was for all of us. We're happy to have won it in a tie. Then we were a little bit tired to finish, but things are going well. We had a few alerts several times during the day. The road was at times covered with sand and dirt, and narrow sections or hairpin bends didn't make things any easier."
The No. 371 Porsche 911 driven by Yves Deflandre and Jennifer Hugo completes the provisional podium (42 points). The Belgians were in 28th place (14 points) yesterday. Having discovered the Tour de Corse Historique in 2020 (2nd overall in VHRS) and with a solid track record in numerous regularity events, they are looking for their first crown on the Île de Beauté. They were able to take full advantage of the 911's power, like many other competitors in the Intermediate category. The layout of the ZR6 and ZR7 was particularly advantageous for them! The “Inter” cars are well placed in the standings after Wednesday, October 8.
VHRS Classification
Garnier / Triffault (Porsche 912 Coupe n°458) à 36 pts
Jay / Jay (Lancia Fulvia n°444) à 38 pts
Deflandre / Hugo (Porsche 911 n°371) à 42 pts
Arnal / Goudou (Morris Cooper S n°471) à 43 pts
Feligioni / Feligioni (Porsche 911 SC n°343) à 45 pts
Tomorrow's program includes something new
Following in the footsteps of traditional routes and visiting Notre-Dame-de-la-Serra, and after a little rest in Ajaccio, we continue south on Thursday! From Verghia, the rally will pass through the Albitreccia hairpin, a famous spot on the Tour de Corse in the past. High up in the hills, and after a break in Cozzano, a charming village, there will be no time to relax. Bonifacio will be the destination, a first for the event! A postcard-perfect sunset will bid farewell to the parc fermé tomorrow.
