Rally Adriatic Tour 2019

Rally driatic Tour: back on the first edition

Sunday, May 12, 2019, was held the day of scrutineerings for the first edition of the Rally Adriatic Tour, in Split, where the participants had opportunity to visit the historic center and its Diocletian Palace, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and dominated by the bare massifs of Kozjak.

It was under the rain that the first stage started on the coastal road and its succession of seaside resorts to compete in the first regularity event of the rally, on a soggy road before reaching the beach of Gradac and its many points of views on the islands of Brac and Hvar. The route then meandered between mountains and lakes under milder weather, where clearings marked border crossings between Croatia and Bosnia – Herzegovina before reaching Dubrovnik, the pearl of the Adriatic. The GARZON / GARZON crew (Porsche 911 Targa) took control of the event in the “Classic” category, while MAUNOIR / KOSCHULL (Ferrari 458 spider) took the lead in “Prestige” vehicles.

For the second stage, in a loop, it was under a big blue sky that the rally took a mountainous route to enter Bosnia-Herzegovina, which hosted the entire stage established in the Neretva Valley, then in the Hutovo Blato National Park, famous for its Roman ruins. In the afternoon, the participants had a rendezvous with a route surrounded by karstic landscapes testifying millenniums of natural erosion before finding again Dubrovnik, which was, during more than 400 years, an independent republic, against the large powers of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The couple WOESTELANDT (Porsche 914/6) took the step in “Classic” and DAYNAC / LAIN (Porsche 993) won the stage in the classification “Prestige” led by CARUGATI / MERMOD (Ferrari 328 GTS).

The beautiful scenery of the third stage led to Niksic Lake for a lunch set in the middle of the Montenegrin countryside before the afternoon route had to be bypassed because the road to the Sedlo Pass was still taken by the snow. It is therefore with regret that it was necessary to circumvent the Durmitor National Park to reach Zabljak and its forests, which are among the most preserved in the Balkans. The winter sports resort of Kolasin, a small and peaceful mountain town, hosted the rally in a typical hotel, a cocoon of white wood with an imposing architecture that looked like a futuristic chalet. The OSPELT / SCHUSSLER crew (Mercedes 300SL) won the stage of the day at the “Classic”, which will return to the “Prestige” to the FORTIER / FORTIER crew (Aston Martin Vantage).

The fourth stage started with the Tara Canyon and its titanic cliffs to find the sumptuous panoramas of Lake Skadar and climb to the village of Rijeka Crnojevica. The festive town of Budva then welcomed the participants before joining the mouths of Kotor and its gulf-like gulf having nothing to envy to the Norwegian fjords. On the marina of Lustica Bay, with many luxury yachts we found the Adriatic coast after two stages in the heart of Montenegro. The GARZON (Porsche 911 Targa) claimed dominance in “Classic” while FORTIER (Aston Martin Vantage) won a second stage of rank and worried leaders CARUGATI / MERMOD (Ferrari 328 GTS) in the category “Prestige”.

The fifth and final stage, looped around Kotor, took one of the most beautiful local roads: “the serpentine” and its twenty-five hairpins dating from the Austro-Hungarian era, with striking views of the Adriatic. , where it was necessary to dispute the ultimate tests of regularity. After a lunch break not far from Ostrog Monastery, we had to find the Marina of Lustica Bay where the final arrival of this first Adriatic Rally was judged.
PARADA / COSTA crew (Porsche 996) won the “Prestige” stage, having solved their navigation tools concerns, while the “Classic” general classification evolved in favor of STEEMAN / LECUYER (Porsche 911 Targa), which took the second step of the podium in the very last special stage.

The GARZON / GARZON crew (Porsche 911 Targa) won the rally in the “Classic” category, having dominated the event head and shoulders while CARUGATI / MERMOD (Ferrari 328 GTS) will have resisted the different assault of competitors to win in the category “Prestige”.

We look forward to seeing you next year for a new edition, but before that, you can meet us on the occasion of the Rally Megève-Saint-Tropez from June 11 to 13!

Classement général / General Ranking

Catégorie Classics
1- A. GARZON / D. GARZON (Porsche 911 Targa)
2- J. STEEMAN / M. LECUYER (Porsche 911)
3- G. WOESTELANDT / B. WOESTELANDT (Porsche 914)

Catégorie Prestiges
1- T. CARUGATI / S. MERMOD (Ferrari 328 GTS)
2- A. FORTIER / A. FORTIER (Aston Martin Vantage)
3- O. DAYNAC / X. LAIN (Porsche 993 Cabriolet)