French Gravel Rally Championship

Clio Rally3, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 were resounding successes on the Rallye Terre de Lozère, the venue for round five of the calendar. At the end of a fantastic battle, Clio Rally3 won its category in the hands of Jérôme Jacquot and Marielle Grandemange, who beat Simon and Yves Heinemann by 1.8 seconds. Pierre Ragues and Julien Pesenti completed the podium, making it three Clio Rally3s in the top ten.

In their return to the Castrol-liveried Clio Rally4, Quentin Ribaud and Mélissa Declerck stirred a sensation by winning their category by six minutes. They also mingled among the best four-wheel-drive entries on the national scene to finish seventh in the event and join the Clio Trophy France Terre leaders in making it four Clios atop the two-wheel-drive classification.

Jérôme Jacquot : "I hadn’t competed on the Rallye Terre de Lozère in nine years, and this was only my second rally with Clio Rally3. It’s a really nice little car to drive. We had a lot of fun while continuing to learn. It was very slippery Sunday morning, but we drove well, keeping it clean with nice runs, even if it’s still a difficult compromise to find. It’s a shame that Simon had a puncture on SS8, but he came back at the end, and we had a lot of fun, which made it all the better !"

Quentin Ribaud : "Mission accomplished in Lozère ! Our main goal this weekend was to win in two-wheel drive, and we did just that, setting all the fastest times in the category. We didn’t expect to finish so well with a two-wheel drive car, but it proves that Clio Rally4 is efficient and formidable. We had an excellent set-up and didn’t encounter any reliability problems or punctures, which underlines the endurance and performance of the Michelin tyres. I want to thank the Fun Meca Sport team for providing us with optimum conditions, Mélissa for her job on my right, as well as Renault and Castrol for their support. We’re now looking ahead to the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine, where we will take on a new and exciting challenge against some great competition on tarmac !"

More information here.

Clio Trophy France Terre

Clio Trophy France Terre points leader Jean-Sébastien Vigion won for the third time in four starts this season. Overcoming his lack of knowledge on the Rallye Terre de Lozère stages and the hazards of a final timed sector full of surprises, the Frenchman and co-driver Amandine Borderie drove a superb rally to win and mathematically clinch the title. While the successor to Quentin Ribaud and Florian Bouchonneau is now known, the suspense remains among the Juniors and Teams, where the remaining contenders will battle it out for the 2024 official programme at the Rallye Terre des Cardabelles (6-8 October).

More information here.

French Rally Cup

Victorious this season in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, Benjamin Barnouin successfully completed his preparation for the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine by winning this weekend’s Rallye de Chartreuse with Romain Garel. They led a CLio Rally5 sweep of the top four in its class.

Meanwhile, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 scored a double victory on the Rallye du Pays Basque, respectively, in the hands of Frédéric Meurant - Kévin Aumeunier and Julien Toniutti - Guillaume Duplan. Clio Rally5 also won the Rallye des Vallées with Régis Personne and Sandrine Pernot.

And elsewhere

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy protégé Jack Brennan scored his tenth consecutive category win with Clio Rally5 in 2023 by winning the 1A class of the Carrick on Suir Rallysprint with co-driver Patrick Croke. Buoyed by his fine performances on his native island, the Irishman will tackle the Rali Ceredigion (Wales) next week as part of the European Rally Trophy.

In Slovenia, Vjekoslav Čičko and Eugen Kokolić led Clio Rally5 to victory in Class 5 on the inaugural Rally Dolina zelenega zlata. This victory keeps the Croatian team in contention for the D1 title in the Slovenian championship.

Over in Belgium, the Dutch pairing of Anja Van Loon and Martine van den Heuvel-Kolman secured a podium finish in 3G on their Clio Rally3 debut on the Short Rally van Kasterlee. At the same event, their compatriots John Coumans and Nard Ippen led Clio Rally5 to first place in 2D. Lastly, Mirko Cecchin and Thomas Luca Panato led a Clio Rally5 hat-trick of its class on Rally della Valpolicella (Italy).

Coming up

The Clio Trophy France Asphalte returns this week at the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine (31 August-2 September), with a 43-strong entry. After a start to the season in which three different winners in as many rounds, Benjamin Stirling will look to extend his lead in the general classification. There will also be three Clio Rally3s and six Clio Rally4s competing, including Thomas Chauffray and Quentin Ribaud, two competitors who have won trophies dedicated to Clio Rally5.

The title race also promises to intensify with the Clio RXs of the FFSA French Junior Rallycross Championship at round six in Lohéac (1-3 September). Marceau Launay will try to defend his position as leader, but his closest challengers, Andréa Benezet and Valentin Lumet, are determined to regain the upper hand !