Day 3 – The outcome in Margeride

Start in reverse order of numbers on the Margeride tracks, for a 182 km course through the gorse.

Start in reverse order!

Third and final day of the 38th edition of the Trèfle Lozérien AMV. Start in reverse order of numbers on the Margeride tracks, for a 182 km course through the gorse, with longer times than the day before, offering the possibility to make a difference.

From the top 10 to the top 5

A difficult new day for Till De Clercq. The defending champion salvages his 10th place overall thanks to a strong 5th place in La Vabre, the final special stage. He needs to turn the frustration of this weekend into motivation for the rest of the season. His teammate Luc Fargier is ejected from the top 10, finishing 11th.

Enzo Marchal had a good feeling on the bike. Number 22 gains a position thanks to three solid special stages, finishing with the 6th best scratch time. Alexis Beaud achieves his best general result at the Trèfle Lozérien AMV. The Atomic Moto rider fought hard but finished the event in 8th place.

The Sunday surprise is, of course, Jérémy Miroir. In 15th place on Saturday evening, he sets the best time in SP3 and climbs to 7th place in the overall standings. The duel for 5th place lived up to expectations. Killian Lunier beats Hugo Blanjoue twice in special stages. But number 14 wins three times. The 4 seconds gained by Blanjoue in SP4 seal the outcome of the battle. Lunier finishes 6th overall, and Blanjoue takes 5th place, marking both their best performances at the Trèfle Lozérien AMV.

And the winners are…

It was fast, very fast between Valérian Debaud and Jérémy Tarroux for the last spot on the podium. But Debaud, 3rd in the morning, left defeated from all the specials by Tarroux. A slight lack of consistency led to a big disappointment. He finished 4th. Tarroux took 3rd place on the podium, behind Verona and Garcia. Although the standings left little suspense since Saturday evening, Andrea Verona, 2nd, and Josep Garcia, 1st, continued to deliver a flawless performance on Sunday.

Summary: 2 special stage wins each, but no change in the overall standings. As Verona promised, he will return because he wants to win this race. Garcia, on the other hand, can savor his 3rd victory in Lozère.

The Thierry Castan Trophy to finish in style

The traditional Thierry Castan Trophy closed the day on Sunday, May 19. Apparently, Josep Garcia really didn’t want to leave anything to his opponents this weekend. He finished first, ahead of Andrea Verona and the Lozère rider Luc Maliges.