FIA CODASUR Rally Championship

Clio Rally5 claimed its maiden victory of the year in the CODASUR4 in the hands of Luis Eduardo Stedile and Carlos Enrique Morales. Fifth overall on the Rally de Erechim, the Brazilians won their class by almost nine minutes and took top honours in the two-wheel drive category while finishing second among those competing in the Brazilian Rally Championship. With this third win in three starts this season, the pair extend their lead in the national Rally4 category.

FIA European Rally Championship

On Rally Poland, Ola Nore Jr and Rune Eilertsen dominated the proceedings in Clio Rally4 to win the ERC Junior and ERC4 categories by more than a minute. With the victory, the Norwegian crew leads the Junior ERC championship. Meanwhile, Clio Rally3 made its European debut with Paulo Soria and Axel Coronado. On his first outing with the car, the Argentinian was second in his category before a puncture on SS3 and an off led to an early retirement on the penultimate stage of leg one.

French Rally Championship & Clio Trophy France Asphalte

51 Clio Rally3, Rally4 & Rally5 competed in the Rallye Antibes Côte d’Azur. Tom Pieri led Clio Rally3 to victory in his class and finished in the top ten overall, including a sixth fastest time overall on SS5. Clio Rally4 also starred in the hands of Julien Brégeon in RC4 and Allison Viano, who marched onto the top step of a podium monopolised by Clios in the French Women’s Rally Championship.

In the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, Benjamin Barnouin avoided the hazards of the mixed conditions to claim his first win. The 3P Racing by GMC Compétition driver made the most of his teammate Valentin Ascenzi’s misfortune to win ahead of Benjamin Stirling and Arthur Pelamourgues. With his second podium in two rallies, Benjamin Stirling now leads the general classification ahead of the next round at the Rallye Aveyron Rouergue Occitanie (6-8 July).

More information here.

Clio Trophy Belgium

Round two of Clio Trophy Belgium, the Sezoensrally and its specific profile with almost a quarter of the course on gravel tracks, saw Pierre-Manuel Brasseur and Maxime Andernack pick up their first victory of the year. The tandem took advantage of the punctures of their rivals to win by more than a minute over from Lander Depotter - Jasper Maelfait and Xavier Dekeyser - Nele Tassaert to take the lead of the general classification before the Rally of Bertrix (10-11 June). In addition to the trophy, Jonas Dewilde and Jeffrey Vandenbussche won with Clio Rally4 in the Junior category to take the lead in the Belgian Junior Rally Championship.

More information here and here.

Clio Trophy Canarias

The second meeting of Clio Trophy Canarias was the Rallye Isla de Gran Canaria, which saw the duo Benjamín Avella and Agustín Alemán claim their first victory. After a thrilling duel with Noé Armas and Alejandro Falcón, the winners took advantage of their rivals going off the road in the last stage to win. Manuel Hernández and David Bethencourt inherited second place after a hard-fought battle with Víctor Valido and David Rivero. Mederos - Rubén Antonio Fumero and Ulises Avella - Gabriel Espino completed the top five. With two runner-up results in two starts, Manuel Hernández will head to the next round, the Rallye Villa de Adeje (30 June-1 July), atop the general classification.

French Rally Cup

There were several successes on the national scene. Clio Rally5 won the Rallye du Saint-Émilion with the crew of Romain Harnois and Gaël George. Manon Dauphin and Stéphane Moulin triumphed on the Rallye de la Coutellerie et du Tire-Bouchon. Gérard Brun and Jessica Michelin did the same at the Rallye de la Matheysine as did Jean-Christophe Olivar and Marine Bellon at the Rallye du Sud Sauvage and Julien Toniutti and Guillaume Duplan at the Rallye du Val Dadou. Meanwhile, Clio Rally4 won with Anthony Chassard and Sébastien Mougenot at the Ajolais Rally and Arnaud Besnier and Aurore Cottrel at the Mézidon Rally.

And elsewhere

In South America, Sebastian Guerrero scored a third consecutive victory with Clio Rally5 in the RC5 category of the Ecuadorian Rally Championship. Guerrero finished seventh on Rally Caminos de Imbabura with co-driver Alvaro Sevilla, ahead of the Clio Rally5s of John Paul Gonzalez - Luis Felipe Valverde and Andrés Gómez - Mateo Gómez. In Peru, Wilson and Diego Garay finished third on Rally Extreme Valle del Mantaro to win Rally5, as did Javier Arce and Mario Acosta on Rally Rutas del Sol.

In Europe, Marco Varetto and Vittorio Bianco led Clio Rally5 to success on Rally Il Grappolo (Italy), as did their compatriots Filippo Tonarelli and Fabio Menchini on Rally degli Abeti e dell’Abetone (Italy). On the Iberian Peninsula, Rubén Muñoz and Miguel Lorenzo took Clio Rally5 to seventh overall on Rally Empordà to win the Rally5 category in the Catalan Rally Championship.

Meanwhile, Gert Marboe Jensen led a one-two finish for Clio Rally5 in its category at Motorsportshop Rallysprint (Denmark), as did Josef Navrátil and Zdeněk Omelka in the RC5 class of the Czech Rally Championship at Rally Český Krumlov. Lastly, Tuncer and Asena Sancakli scored another RC5 victory with Clio Rally5 at Yeşil Bursa Rallisi in round two of the Turkish Rally Championship.

Coming up

This week, the Clio Cup Series heads to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for an extraordinary meeting reuniting 60 competitors for Clio Cup Europe, Clio Cup France, Clio Cup Italia and Clio Cup Mid-Europe. On the rally side, Clio Trophy Spain Asfalto will be in action for the second time in 2023 at Rallye Rías Baixas, while the French Junior Rallycross Championship will also contest its second meeting of the season at Faleyras.