Belgian Rally Championship & Clio Trophy Belgium

Clio Trophy Belgium title holder Lander Depotter displayed just how talented he is on the Rallye de Wallonie, where he drove the official Renault Clio Rally3 in Castrol colours for the first time. With the support of Pieter Tsjoen Racing, the Flandrian and co-driver Jasper Maelfait lived up to expectations. Bearing the number 29, the duo finished the first leg in 14th place before overtaking competitors from the higher categories to finish a promising 12th place overall.

Lander Depotter : "We had a very good test with Clio Rally3 on the Tuesday to get to know the car and work on it but I immediately felt confident with the car. We adapted the setup to the rally specificities during the shakedown with the help of the Alpine Racing engineers. The opening day was difficult, as I expected for my first rally with four-wheel drive, but I learnt a lot, and everything went pretty good. On Sunday, the roads suited us even more, and we closed the gap again with several Rally2s until the heavy showers on the final special stage. It was complicated and tricky, but we stayed focused and brought the car home without a scratch. It was a very good weekend during which we learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Clio Rally3 is absolutely amazing to drive and I am already looking forward to our next outing, the Omloop van Vlaanderen !"

Meanwhile, the race to succeed him in Clio Trophy Belgium got underway with 11 Clio Rally5s. Among them, Romanian Cristian Sugar won on his debut on the Belgian stages ahead of Dutchman Nard Ippen and rookie Leny Cols.

More information here and here.

Clio Cup Series

On the circuit front, the Clio Cup Series, Clio Cup España and Clio Cup France made their first visit to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Frenchman Nicolas Milan claimed his first win of the year in a race full of twists and turns on Saturday before his countryman and former teammate Anthony Jurado took over the reins of the general classification with victory on Sunday. After the only Portuguese round on the calendar, the two French drivers and Italy’s Gabriele Torelli are now clear at the top of the Clio Cup Series table heading to the next round at Hockenheim (10-12 May).

More information here.

FFSA French Junior Rallycross Championship

The new Clio RX debuted at the Lessay-Manche Rallycross this weekend, kicking off the 2024 FFSA French Junior Rallycross Championship. Last year’s runner-up, Valentin Lumet, confirmed the expectations placed on him by dominating the proceedings, winning three heats, a semi-final and a final. His teammate Kelig Gouesbet finished second ahead of Hugo Jouan. Ilona Bertapelle finished fifth overall and first in the women’s category. The next event takes place at Faleyras on 25 and 26 May.

National Championships

Clio Rally3 won the season opener in Poland at Rajd Świdnicki in the hands of Hubert Kowalczyk and Jarosław Hryniuk. The Class 3 winning crew battled with the best Rally2s and GTs to finish in the top ten on several stages and 10th overall.

Clio Rally3 also won round three in Turkey at Rally Bodrum. Navigated by Italy’s Fabrizia Pons, Burcu Çetinkaya claimed her third Women’s victory in as many starts this year. The duo of Eda Soylu and Yusuf Çalik also ensured a one-two finish for Clio Rally3 in the category.

Spain’s Ares Lahoz and co-driver José Antonio Vázquez led a Clio Rally5 lockout of the top three places at the Rali Terras d’Aboboreira, round three of the Portuguese championship. Meanwhile, Eliott Delecour and Mathieu Coppa claimed victory among the six Clio Rally5s present in Romania at the Raliul Harghitei, where the son of the 1993 WRC runner-up finished ninth in the national classification and second in the Junior category.

In South America, the Uruguayan Rally Championship travelled to the Rally de Rocha, where three Clio Rally5s finished within just a whisker of the podium. Brazilians Luis Eduardo Stedile and Carlos Enrique Morales took another victory in the RC4N and RC4 Light categories ahead of the crews of Alfonso López - Sebastián González and Rodrigo Fialho - Arbiza Rodrigo, whose performances made Renault the brand most represented at the front.

Lastly, Lebanon’s Shadi El Fakih and Samer Sfeir made a winning debut in their Clio Rally5, dominating the RC5 category on the Jordan 1st National Rally to launch the Jordan Rally Championship.

French Rally Cup

In France, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 won on the Rallye de la Guirlande, with Frédéric Meurant - Kévin Aumeunier and Sylvain Pina - Ludovic Pina, respectively. The duos Gérard Delorme - Sophie Bert and Silvio Cammarota - Eva Dolmazon did the same on the Rallye du Bassin Annonéen. There were also successes for Damien Vaissière and Sébastien Romero on the Rallye Val d’Agout, Julien Charnay and Maxime Gomez on the Rallye de Lozère, Chris Langé and Albane Lefranc-Laplanche on the Rallye Coeur de Lion and Maxime and Anne Galpin on the Rallye de la Vallée du Loir.

And elsewhere…

In Italy, Clio Rally3 claimed a one-two finish dominated by Matteo Giordano and Manuela Siragusa in its class on Rally Elba. At the same time, Alex Lorenzato and Stefano Beltramello won from an impressive field of 20 Clio Rally5s. Elia Signor and Luca Altoè were victorious in their Clio Rally5 on Rally della Marca, as were Andrea La Cola and Carola Villati on Rally Valle Arroscia.

Coming up

Less than a month after a thrilling battle in the Causses, the Clio Trophy France Terre competitors head to the Rallye Castine Terre d’Occitanie (3-5 May) for the second stop on the 2024 calendar. Tom Pellerey will aim for a second success, but his 25 rivals will try to stop him. Eight Clio Rally3s will be on the starting grid for the second round of the French Terrestrial Rally Championship on the same special stages.

Photos : RenaultBelux/Godin & Belgian Rally Championship