Clio Rally3

Following its presentation in January at the Pas de la Casa Circuit, Clio Rally3 made its maiden outing in France at the Rallye Terre des Causses, round one of the French Gravel Rally Championship.

2021 Clio Trophy France Terre winners with Clio Rally5, then 2022 official Clio Rally4 crew, Quentin Ribaud, Mélissa Declerck and Fun Meca Sport continued their ascent by being the first to run Clio Rally3 in France before launching their 2023 campaign.

Integrated into the organisation’s team of openers as a zero car, Clio Rally3 faced many weather conditions… As well as being a massive popular success, with the crowds gathered around it on each return to the service park and many roadside spectators standing up as it passed by !

Quentin Ribaud : "This experience was overwhelmingly positive. It was my first gravel rally with a four-wheel drive car, and I found Clio Rally3 extremely easy, pleasant and enjoyable to drive. The car has a huge potential, and you feel confident and comfortable behind the wheel really quick. I had a lot of fun throughout the weekend. I still have to adjust my driving to the subtleties of four-wheel drive and the tremendously powerful braking, but I was able to drive in dry, slippery and wet conditions to see how Clio Rally 3 handles on all possible surfaces. It’s a good learning experience before my debut in race conditions scheduled for the Castine, subject to homologation. We received tremendous attention and encouragement on the stages, in the service park and in the regroups. It was amazing to hear so many people say they loved the look and sound of Clio Rally3 as it’s always nice to know that people like the car."

French Rally Championship

Clio Trophy France Terre title holder Florian Bouchonneau got his official Clio Rally4 programme off to a perfect start, winning in the two-wheel drive category on the Rallye Terre des Causses. Co-driven by Jeanne Rey and supported by Fun Meca Sport, the Frenchman drove an intelligent rally, progressively widening the gap to his rivals. With five best times to his name, plus one for Simon Heinemann, Clio Rally4 reaffirmed its status as a reference in the category by securing another one-two result on the national scene.

Florian Bouchonneau : “This success in two-wheel drive is a fantastic start to the season. We didn’t expect to win our first rally with Clio Rally4. We rediscovered it with every change in weather. We had to adapt to perform well in all conditions. We did so by getting the right advice and settings from the Fun Meca Sport team. It gives us confidence for the future, and we will continue to work to master Clio Rally4 even better !"

Clio Trophy France Terre

Like the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, a fortnight ago in Le Touquet, the Clio Trophy France Terre kicked off with a bang on the Rallye Terre des Causses. With co-driver Amandine Borderie by his side, Jean-Sébastien Vigion perfectly mastered the elements to win on his return to the brand’s cup eight years after his last appearance in the Clio R3T European Trophy. Initially entered for a one-off rally, the driver-preparer won ahead of Junior Tom Pieri and Gentleman Laurent Reuche and confirmed shortly after the finish that he would defend his leadership position on the Rallye Terre de Castine !

More information here.

Clio Trophy Belgium

The Clio Trophy Belgium was back in action on Saturday at the Rally of the Ardennes, round three of the Belgian Rally Championship. Despite 13 crews at the start and rain making the fast course particularly treacherous, Lander Depotter and Jasper Maelfait quickly found their footing in the opening slippery, technical and muddy stages to create a gap. The two men controlled the proceedings and won the Clio Trophy Belgium and Junior BRC by 1:38.3s over Pierre-Manuel Brasseur and Antoine Podgorny. The all-female pairing of Lyssia Beaudet and Daphné Henry completed this first podium of the year before the next meeting at the Sezoens Rally (20 May).

More information here.

And elsewhere

More than 120 Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 cars were in action in another prolific week for the two benchmark models on the front-wheel drive rallying scene.

Clio Rally5 caused a stir by finishing on the podium in round one of the Brazilian Rally Championship, with Luis Eduardo Stedile and Carlos Enrique Morales winning their category and finishing third overall on the gravel stages of Rally Internacional de Goiás. Also in South America, Uruguayans Ignacio Gardiol and Sebastián González won their class on their Chilean debut with Clio Rally5 on the Rally de Los Ángeles - Bío Bío to launch the Chilean Rally Championship.

In Europe, there was also plenty of success with Jan Dvořák - Jiří Kalkus at the Quattro River Rally Karlovac (Croatia), Josef Navrátil - Zdeněk Omelka at the Kowax Valašská Rally ValMez (Czech Republic) and Philippe Houmard - Jérôme Schier at the Critérium Jurassien (Switzerland) at the start of their respective national championships. Clio Rally5 also won with João Colaço and Alexandre Rodrigues at the Rallye Casinos do Algarve (Portugal), Fabio Solitro and Alberto Porzio at the Rally Bianco Azzurro (San Marino), and Lorenzo Piazza - Alessandro Gaio at the Rally Bellunese and Alessandro La Ferla - Alessio Pellegrini at the Trofeo Maremma in Italy. In Ireland, Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy protégé Jack Brennan continued his winning streak with another victory with co-driver John McGrath and Clio Rally5 on the Circuit of Kerry Stages Rally.

In France, Benjamin Barnouin and Enzo Mahinc finished tenth in the Rallye Pays de Grasse - Fleurs et Parfums while leading a sweep of the top three for Clio Rally5 in their category. In the same event, Allison Viano and Romain Tavolaro finished on the podium in their class with Clio Rally4. At the Rallye du Pays de Lohéac, Clio Rally4 won in two-wheel drive and RC4 in the hands of Thomas Bordagaray and Antoine Loiseau, as did Antoine Bordagaray and Pierre Renault in Rally5. Also in France, Mathieu Walter - Thibault Raincourt and Jérôme Janny - Clément Gutierrez gave Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 another pair of successes on the Rallye Épernay Vins de Champagne. Lastly, Nicolas Paviet-Roche and Mélodie Bellavarde won their category with Clio Rally5 at the Rallye Régional du Pays de Faverges.

Coming up

This week the Clio Cup Series returns to the track at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro (7-10 April). Thirty-one drivers will be in the Gers to battle for the early lead in the race for the Clio Cup Series super-winner title, but also to establish themselves as frontrunners in Clio Cup France and Clio Cup España. Stay tuned, the entry list will be published in the coming days !