The shareholders of ASA Morvan, who were not as numerous as the previous week to compete, nevertheless added very beautiful achievements to their record.
Eloise Duchaine’s great joy
When former Dijon resident Philippe Baffoun, now living in Provence, looks for a co-driver to participate in a rally, he often turns to the members of ASA Morvan because he knows he will find the right person there, as the Autun club is full of specialists of a very good level. After the Bligny sur Ouche rally where he had Eloise as his co-driver in the Ford Fiesta WRC, Philippe called on her a second time to compete with the Alpine GT+ in the Antibes rally, the 3rd round of the French championship. After a very regular race, the crew finished 14th overall out of 55 classified and 78 starters, 4th in the 2-wheel drive category and 2nd in the amateur challenge.
“It’s a great pleasure to drive such a high-performance car. Antibes is a very tough rally with legendary stages like Col de Bleine-Mas d’Aiglun, Col du Turini, Col de Brauss. In the pace notes, there is no respite, it’s non-stop turning. We barely have time to breathe. My next competition will be the Rallye des Vins Mâcon with Franck Jovin and then Autun with Philippe,” said Eloise.
At Antibes, there was another member of ASA Morvan, Jean-Luc Torliguian, who served as the head of the race at the start of a special stage.
Tranquil like Jacky
In the Duchaine family, there is also the father, Jacky, who, like his daughter, has become a very experienced and highly sought-after co-driver, especially by the drivers in the VHC category. To participate in the historic rally of Morocco which spans six days and hundreds of kilometers of special stages in the Atlas mountains and the desert, the driver from Aix-en-Provence, Philippe Galland, called on him to navigate in the Triumph TR7.
As an expert on the Moroccan tracks, Jacky carried out his duties with all the passion and seriousness known to him: “During the first stage, probably on a big stone, the steering rocker arm twisted, the car wouldn’t turn right. We finished the stage on the trailer, and all night with the assistance, we worked to repair it. With the time lost, there was no longer any question of searching for something in the rankings. We just drove within our means, taking great pleasure, finishing 28th out of 33 classified and 43 starters,” he said.
Glory to the Montagnards
The weekends are similar for Florent Séchepine. A week after Coligny, he took part in the regional race in Azé-Donzy in Mâconnais where he achieved the same result at the wheel of his Caterham, finishing 2nd overall in the Production Cars category out of 68 classified and 169th/1000th from the winner, and notably 1st in the GTTS Group and GTT1 class. “It’s a very good result that counts because I’m collecting points for the Coupe de France,” he said.
Cédric Josserand brought his Peugeot 106 to the 13th place overall, achieving 2nd in the F2000 group and winning the F2/2 class, which was his goal. His delicate driving skills worked wonders on this very beautiful course.
Rachel Zeiler finished 66th overall with the Renault Clio. Compared to last year, she significantly improved her lap times, finishing 4th in the N3 class and winning the Ladies’ Cup.
Didier Chaumont, participating in the Sports Cars category, placed his Nova Proto with a Honda engine in 11th place out of 28 classified. He finished 2nd in the CN2 group and class.
There were also two ASA Morvan marshals, Hervé Chevalier and Hervé Petit.
Written by Jean Moncharmont
Photos provided by Eloise and Jacky Duchaine
