Clio Trophy Canarias

The Rallye Villa de Adeje marked the halfway point in the Clio Trophy Canarias season, with a third different winner in as many rounds in its second campaign with the success of the crew formed by Héctor Mederos and Rubén Fumero. The Tenerife natives dominated the action from start to finish on home turf to win ahead of Víctor Valido - David Rivero and Noé Armas - Alejandro Falcón. With their win, the pair take command of the general classification, with just 13 points covering the top four ahead of the next event, the Villa de Teror Rally (29-30 September).

More information here.

FIA NACAM Rally Championship

Clio Rally5 made its Canadian debut in round four of the FIA NACAM Rally Championship at the Rallye Auto International Baie-des-Chaleurs. Newcomers to the demanding and tricky event in Québec, Emiliano and Diego Retama made a strong impression, dominating the timesheets in Rally5 and NACAM Junior. The Mexicans were regularly among the fastest in two-wheel drive before retiring in the penultimate loop. Nevertheless, the duo remains firmly at the top of the NACAM Junior Cup ahead of the next event on the calendar, Rally Sierra Juárez (24-26 August).

And elsewhere

Clio Rally3 made its debut in Greece this weekend on the Rally Fthiotidos. The car demonstrated its potential in the gravel event in the hands of Efthimios Halkias and Nikos Komnos with a top-eight time on SS1 and an overall top-five on SS2 before ’Themis’ withdrew due to a sinus infection. Despite this premature end to their rally, the crew gathered valuable data with a view to their future participation in the EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (7-10 September). Clio Rally5, with Bulgarians Aleksandar Tomov and Yavor Brankov, won its class in the tarmac event of Rally Fthiotidos the previous day.

In the French Rally Cup, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 won their respective classes on the Rallye de Saint-Sornin-Leulac with Florian Bartaire - Marjolaine Patier and Romain Auvert - Thomas Hareau. Meanwhile, Jérémy Jamet and Marine Journet led a 1-2-3-4 for Clio Rally5 on the Rallye de Saint-Marcellin. Thierry Tondut and Brice Brun led a 1-2 finish for Clio Rally5 on the Rallye du Vallespir, as did Mickaël Marchal and Benjamin Fagnone on the Rallye Ruppéen, whilst Pascal and Caroline Bérard also won the Rallye de la Côte Roannaise.

In Italy, Marco Varetto and Vittorio Bianco were the fastest of the nine Clio Rally5s on the Rally di Castiglione Torinese to secure their third success in as many starts in 2023. The crews of Gabriele Gautero - Ismaele Barra and Sabrina Roccati - Mara Miretti also excelled with podium finishes in the Under 25 and Women categories. Elsewhere, 14 Clio Rally5s and two Clio Rally4s took part in Rally Coppa Valtellina, where Mattia Secchi and Ermes Bagolin won the Rally5 category, and Antonello Paroli and Davide Paroli put Clio Rally4 on the podium in the Over 55 class.

Round five of the Portuguese Rally Championship saw Clio Rally5 win in RC5 with Danny Carreira and Marco Macedo. On the same tarmac roads of the Rali de Castelo Branco, Nuno Coelho and Rafael Paiva finished in the top five in two-wheel drive with their Clio Rally4. The Slovenian tarmac of Rally Železniki also suited Clio Rally5, with a pair of wins for Martin Čendak and Jakob Markežič and two podiums for the Clio Rally4 of Viliam Prodan and Marko Stiperski. In Germany, Thomas and Melanie Schultz enjoyed a fine debut with Clio Rally5, leading a 1-2 finish in their class on the Hunsrück Junior Rally. Lastly, Simon and Frida Andersson finished third overall and first in two-wheel drive with Clio Rally4 on the Sturupssprinten (Sweden), whilst Jack Brennan and John McGrath continued their run of success with Clio Rally5 on the Raven’s Rock Stages Rally (Ireland).

Outside Europe, Javier Arce and Mario Acosta took a big step towards the national Rally5 title with another win in their Clio Rally5 on Rally Nasca (Peru).

Coming up

This week, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte reaches the halfway point of its season on the Rallye Aveyron Rouergue Occitanie (6-8 July), where 14 of the 44 entered crews can take the lead before the summer break. Clio Trophy Galicia will also be in action, with round two of its inaugural campaign on the Rallye Sur do Condado (7-9 July). Meanwhile, Norway’s Ola Nore Jr will attempt to defend his lead in FIA ERC4 and FIA ERC Junior with Clio Rally4 on Rally Scandinavia (7-8 July), while Clio RX will also be in action in round four of the French FFSA Rallycross Junior Championship at Pont-de-Ruan (8-9 July).