Clio Trophy Belgium

Following the cancellation of the TAC Rally in July, Clio Trophy Belgium held a double round at the Renties Ypres Rally Belgium for the first event appearance in the FIA World Rally Championship calendar.

After finishing third in the inaugural event on the South Belgian Rally, Gilles Pyck was a dominating force on the Friday for the second round on the calendar. The Belgian set the fastest time on all seven stages and won by a comfortable 55.5 seconds over Benoît Verlinde. Meanwhile, Tom Rensonnet won his three-way battle with Jeroen Catelin and newcomer Nikias Priem to complete the podium.

Gilles Pyck continued to dominate the field over Saturday and Sunday in round three of the 2021 Clio Trophy Belgium season. While Tom Rensonnet claimed two fastest times on Sunday, Gilles Pyck sealed his second victory in three days with a commanding gap of 1:28.2s from Tom Rensonnet. After retiring on Friday after a crash, Corentin Dozot bounced back to finish the second rally in third place ahead of Jeroen Catelin and Nikias Priem.

With a strong performance that allowed Clio Rally5 to extend its invincibility in the RC5 class on the world stage, Gilles Pyck now leads Benoît Verlinde by 20 points and Corentin Dozot by 34 in Clio Trophy Belgium. Tom Rensonnet is another point back, completing a leading quartet dominated by the Junior drivers at the mid-season mark.

More information here.

Next round : ConXion Omloop van Vlaanderen (3-4 September)

NACAM Junior Cup

Clio Rallly5 returned to some of the stages where it made its competition debut on Rally Bajío Guanajuato, host of round two of the NACAM Junior Cup season within the FIA NACAM Rally Championship.

Mexico’s Gustavo Urióstegui and Alejandro Mauro turned heads with their consistent top-five pace among the best Rally2 and Group N four-wheel-drive entries. Finishing just 1.4s off the overall best time on SS12, Gustavo Urióstegui finished third in the general classification, 1:32.1s ahead of his countryman Alejandro Mauro.

In addition to their superb results, they finished one-two in the NACAM Junior Cup ahead of Fiesta R2’s Enrique Meza. Patrice Spitalier, who clocked the fastest time in the Power Stage, took fourth place ahead of Gerardo Rejón, who returned on Sunday after his off the previous day.

With the win, Gustavo Urióstegui is the new leader of the NACAM Junior Cup ahead of Patrice Spitalier and Alejandro Mauro. At the end of the season, the winning driver will receive a one-round invitation to compete in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte or Terre in 2022.

More information here.

Next round : Rally Sierra Juarez (3-4 September)

Photos 1 & 2 : Renault Belux / Clio Trophy Belgium
Photos 3 & 4 : NACAM Rally Championship