Laurent Duverne was a French entrepreneur who really knew how to enjoy a good time while racing. He managed a marketing agency and a digital printing company in Mâcon, and resided in Clessé, Saône-et-Loire, France, with his wife and two children of 10 and 14 years of age. As a member of the ASA Bresse Bugey he started rallying in France in the late 1990s.
On Saturday, 29 May 2010 Laurent Duverne was competing in the Rallye des Vins Mâcon, a round of the 2010 French Rally Cup, sharing his Ford Sierra Cosworth #22 with Yvan Genix of Saint-Martin-du-Mont. While running along a downhill during the fifth special stage of the rally, between the villages of Igé and Cortambert, Duverne lost control of his car on the approach to a right fast bend. The car went off the road and crashed hard into a tree on the driver's side. Despite the immediate intervention by emergency doctors, they could do nothing to save his life and Laurent Duverne was pronounced dead at 18h10. His co-driver Yvan Genix who sustained broken legs and internal injuries was taken to Mâcon hospital, and later was transferred to Bourg-en-Bresse hospital.
After the tragedy the rally was not stopped and, except for some competitors who decided to withdraw in sign of mourning, all the teams decided to go on the following day, in memory of Laurent Duverne. Christophe Vaison-Rodolphe Konig in a Peugeot 306 Maxi were the winners of the rally.
R.I.P
