NACAM Junior Cup

Host of round three of the NACAM Junior Cup, the Rally Sierra Juárez was the scene of a superb duel between Patrice Spitalier and Gerardo Rejón.

Gerardo Rejón took an early lead, but Patrice Spitalier countered on the following timed sector and gradually built up a 4.8s lead with two stages to go. Patrice Spitalier then took advantage of his rival’s troubles to seal the victory. Leader coming into Oaxaca, Gustavo Urióstegui retired on SS1.

With the win, Patrice Spitalier takes a 16-point lead from Gerardo Rejón in the NACAM Junior Cup. The Mexican driver also leads the Rally5 category and is fourth in the FIA NACAM Rally Championship behind three Rally2 entries.

More information here.

Clio Rally4

Anthony Fotia resumed his official programme with Clio Rally4 on the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine. With four stage wins on Friday and three more on Saturday, the 2020 Clio Trophy France title-winner was once again the best performer in his category, even though he did miss out on victory on the final loop, which was run in mixed conditions. However, he did manage to hold on to second place in the RC4 class of the French two-wheel-drive Rally Championship.

Meanwhile, Clio Rally4 with Richard Vallois won the French Rally Cup on the Rallye du Tréport whilst Alejandro Mauro did the same on the Memorial Abel Puig and finished third amongst the Catalan Gravel Rally Championship entries.

Clio Trophy France Asphalte

The intensity of the Clio Trophy France Asphalte increased a notch on the return to action on the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine. With several lead changes, more than five crews fighting for the win and the unfailing reliability of Clio Rally5, the competitors put on a superb show on the special stages plotted in the Alps.

After the first leg marked by an incredible battle among five different drivers, Romain Di Fante and Styve Juif made it a duel for the win. The latter made a small mistake on the penultimate stage, whilst his rival became the first two-time winner this season. Romain Fostier completed the podium while Michel Giraldo and Margot Dupuy won the Gentlemen and Female categories.

With this success, Romain Di Fante widens the gap to Styve Juif to 38 points and 40 to Thomas Chauffray.

More information here.

Next round : Rallye Cœur de France (24-26 September)

Clio Trophy Swiss

The Clio Trophy Swiss was also in action on the Rallye Mont-Blanc Mozeine for the third of its five-round season.

As in the French trophy, the meeting lived up to all its promise with an intense contest from start to finish and scattered rain showers. Ismaël Vuistiner jumped into the lead on the opening stage and resisted pressure coming from Jérémie Toedtli before the latter punctured on the penultimate timed sector.

While Sacha Althaus inherited the runner-up spot, Jérémie Toedtli still leads the Clio Trophy Swiss and takes the lead of the Swiss Junior Rally Championship from David Erard. With his win in the Alps, Ismaël Vuistiner moves up to third place in the Clio Trophy Swiss, on level points with Sacha Althaus.

More information here.

Next round : Rally Ronde del Ticino (24-25 September)

Clio Trophy Italia

The Clio Trophy Italia has its champions as Davide Nicelli and Tiziano Pieri secured the title with their fourth consecutive victory at the Rally 1000 Miglia held near Brescia.

Leading from start to finish, the HK Racing crew won all the stages contested to also win in the R1 category and score an excellent result in the general classification. Mattia Zanin was second after Pierfrancesco Verbilli retired, while Nicola Schileo completed the podium ahead of Alfred Kramer.

Although the crown has now been awarded, there will be several battles for the remaining top positions in the 2021 season finale.

More information here.

Next round : Rally 2 Valli (10 October)

Clio Trophy Belgium

A few weeks after Ypres Rally, the Clio Trophy Belgium was already back on the Flemish roads for the ConXion Omloop van Vlaanderen near Roulers.

While Tom Rensonnet and Benoît Verlinde fought for the lead on the first loop, Gilles Pyck pushed hard to move to the top spot in the afternoon. Despite all the efforts of his rivals, Gilles Pyck kept the lead and took advantage of Tom Rensonnet’s retirement when he got stuck in a ditch on the final stage, to win by 42.2s over Benoît Verlinde, who won his duel with Corentin Dozot.

Already a two-time winner in Ypres, Gilles Pyck extended his lead over Benoît Verlinde and Corentin Dozot thanks to this third consecutive victory whilst his pursuers consolidated their respective positions on the provisional Clio Trophy Belgium podium.

More information here.

Next round : Rallye de Wallonie (8-10 October)

Clio Trophy Turkey

Following the cancellation of the Kocaeli Rallisi due to the fires in the region, the Clio Trophy Turkey competitors gathered at the Yeşil Bursa Rallisi last weekend.

Mehmet Besler perfectly relaunched his campaign after two retirements at the beginning of the season. The 2005 Turkish Rally Champion immediately took the lead before controlling the proceedings to win by 17.2s from Nebil Erbil and Çağlayan Çelik who were separated by less than a tenth of a second at the finish. Once again, Clio Rally5 proved fast and reliable, dominating the top seven places in its category while Mehmet Besler and Nebil Erbil finished in the overall top ten.

Winner of the opening two rounds of 2021, Çağlayan Çelik still leads the general classification whilst his closest rival Nebil Erbil is now only a few points behind.

Next round : Ege Rallisi (15-17 October)

Elsewhere...

In Italy, Cristian Valdini and Enrico Spreafico scored a Clio Rally5 double in the CRZ event of the Rally 1000 Miglia while Marco Petracca won the Rally Città di Torino. In the French Rally Cup, Tony Jobin also won the RC5 category on the Rallye du Tréport.

José Álvarez finished sixth in the Rudagüera Rallysprint and won his class in Spain. Andorran Alex Español held off several top cars from the upper category to finish second and score two stage wins in the two-wheel-drive class on the Rally Ciudad de Granada.

Lastly, Clio Rally5 caused a sensation in its first appearance in the Brazilian Championship as Luigi Contin finished on the overall podium on the Rally de Estação. The Uruguayan driver also took three top-three and eight top-five results in nine stages against several four-wheel-drive cars and won the two-wheel-drive category by almost four and a half minutes.

Coming up

The fifth-generation Clio will make its return to the track this week at round ten of the Clio Cup Europe, where nearly 40 drivers will battle it out at the Red Bull Ring (9-12 September). Meanwhile, the Clio Trophy Spain will kick off its second half of the season on the Rally Princesa de Asturias (10-11 September).

Photo 1 : Clio Trophy Italia
Photo 2 : Clio Trophy Turkey
Photo 3 : DPPI / Alpine Racing
Photo 4 : NACAM Junior Cup