Vroum, vroum. From tomorrow, the inhabitants of Eymoutiers will see dozens of bikers from the national police. Don’t panic, this is not a ministerial visit or a tough intervention. The Chambon site hosts the regional motorcycle rally of the national police organized by the Angoulême section of the CMPN (motorcycle club of the national police). An institution over 70 years old. About fifty participants are expected for this rally “which is part of the training of motorcyclists “, specifies Olivier Perrière, the departmental delegate of the CMPN. There are police motorcyclists, civil servants in civilian clothes, but also individuals.
Several events punctuate this rally and it will begin tomorrow with the gymkhana, an agility exercise. The organizers have concocted an obstacle course. A few years ago, in Limoges, motorcyclists had for example to carry a porcelain cup on their two-wheeler, an 8 kg jerrycan of sand, or even throw darts into a target. Penalties are imposed if motorcyclists dismount. Following the gymkhana, a shooting test is planned. Then Thursday, it will be the big piece with a rally of 130 kilometers drawn “between lakes and rivers“, through the Charente limousine. Everything except a speed test. The bikers will start one by one, minute by minute. They will discover the map of the course 20 minutes before the start and will have to succeed in following the route. Without GPS, obviously and going through “CP” points, passage controls where volunteers will stamp their card. Not so easy. “One year, in the Basque Country, a colleague got lost and found himself in Spain”, notes Fabrice, one of the police officers who organizes this rally. Here again, any error in the course and excess kilometers carried out are liable to penalty points. Importantly, the police will have to respect the highway code and speed limits. “The idea is also to introduce the region to colleagues who do not know”, notes Olivier Perrière. Police motorcyclists will also receive a visit from Gregg Black, the Charente rider who has just won the Bol d’Or. Note that this regional rally will qualify for the national final next year.
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