The Clio Trophy France Terre rounded off its season with the event around Millau for the third year running. Already mathematically assured of the title, Jean-Sébastien Vigion only had to start the opening stage on Saturday morning to officially succeed Quentin Ribaud and Florian Bouchonneau. However, the battle for the Junior title heated up right from the outset, and Mattéo Chatillon got off to a perfect start, setting the fastest time through Sainte-Eulalie, L’Hospitalet and Le Camp.

By monopolising the stage wins, the ARL Sport driver opened up a 23.9s lead over Benjamin Boulenc with Mika Rasoamaromaka 3.8s further back. Junior leader before the start, Tom Pieri lost almost two minutes due to a puncture, relegating him to 15th place. However, the battle was cut short in the afternoon as the second loop was cancelled after a marshall passed away.

With the approval of the authorities, the race directors and the majority of the marshalls, and in agreement with the organising committee, the “Carda” resumed on Sunday. The first pass through Vézins went in Tom Pieri’s favour, but Mattéo Chatillon kept extending his lead, whilst the timed sector ended the hopes of Baptiste Panissié, who retired.

Mattéo Chatillon continued his push in Séverac-d’Aveyron, where he racked up maximum bonus points by winning the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage - on equal time with Benjamin Boulenc. With a 28.7s lead, the leader controlled his pace in the last two stages to seal his victory and Junior top spot. He won ahead of Mika Rasoamaromaka and Jean-Sébastien Vigion, who knocked Benjamin Boulenc off the podium in the final timed sector. Jean-Paul Monnin finished fifth, followed by Faniry Rasoamaromaka and Florian Condamines, who lost four spots in the last kilometres. In his second start in the trophy, Jean-Michel Da Cunha won the Gentlemen class and finished eighth overall, ahead of Tom Pieri and Alexandre Gransagne.

In the final general classification, Jean-Sébastien Vigion claimed the Clio Trophy France Terre title. Winner of the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage Trophy, his runner-up Mattéo Chatillon was the highest-placed Junior and will have an official programme in 2024 operated by 3P Racing, crowned amongst the teams thanks to the performances of Benjamin Boulenc and Florian Condamines. Despite retiring in the opening stage, Laurent Reuche retained the honorary title in the Gentlemen category, while Déborrah Marie snatched first place in the Women’s category. Bandelier Automobiles also won the Renault Network Challenge, with Jean Paul Monnin and Laurent Reuche contributing to its success throughout the season.

In addition to the seven Clio Rally5s between the first two Rally4s in the French Two-Wheel Drive Gravel Rally Championship, the Clio Rally3s driven by Jérôme Jacquot and Pierre Ragues also impressed, beating a number of cars from the higher categories. The Clio Trophy France Terre organisers would also like to extend their sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the marshall who passed away on Saturday and to all his colleagues.

Clio Trophy France Terre - Rallye Terre des Cardabelles
1. Mattéo Chatillon – Maxence Cornuau (J) 1h08:26.9s
2. Mika Rasoamaromaka – Bastien Pouget (J) +11.1s
3. Jean-Sébastien Vigion – Amandine Borderie +12.0s
4. Benjamin Boulenc – Chloé Barozzi-Gauze +15.6s
5. Jean Paul Monnin – Franck Gilliot +42.7s
6. Faniry Rasoamaromaka – Judicael Rakotomalala (J) +55.1s
7. Florian Condamines – Damien Jolé +1:04.8s
8. Jean-Michel Da Cunha – Bastien Dumas (G) +1:30.1s
9. Tom Pieri – Alexis Maillefert (J) +2:09.4s
10. Alexandre Gransagne – Loïc Maurel +2:13.3s
11. Ludovic Casciani – Céline Cavallaro +2:22.5s
12. Jean Lavigne – Arnaud Cubizolles (J) +3:16.6s
13. Vincent Favre-Miville – Benoît Toussaint +4:12.2s
14. Ludovic De Luca – José Boyer +4:25.6s
15. Lilian Vialle – Manuel Ghirardello (G) +5:46.4s
16. Mickael Caumes – Johan Berthomieu (G) +6:16.5s
17. Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet +7:16.5s
18. Johan Gres – Rémi Nolorgues +8:16.5s
19. Olivier Bosch – Nathan Avella (G) +12:10.3s
20. Justin Tamisier – Laurent Tamisier +24:03.7s
21. Déborrah Marie – Amandine Houry (F) +25:28.5s
Ret. Thomas Mouysset – Lucas Gineste (J)
Ret. Aurélien Devanthery – Gaël Delasoie
Ret. Baptiste Panissie – Gaël Lavernhe (J)
Ret. Anthony Rovina – Kylian Sarmezan (J)
Ret. Laurent Reuche – Patrick Spart (G)

Results and classifications