French Gravel Rally Championship

Matteo Chatillon made his second appearance in round three of the French Gravel Rally Championship on the Rallye Terre d’Aléria, in the official Castrol Clio Rally3, as a reward for being the best Junior in the 2023 Clio Trophy France Terre season. Following his impressive displays in the World Rally Championship, the 3P Racing by ARL Sport driver impressed with several outright top-five finishes despite the 19 Rally2s at the start. The Frenchman and co-driver Maxence Cornuau finished fourth overall as they led a Clio Rally3 lockout of the top four in RC3, beating Quentin Ribaud and Loan Biagetti, the only crew to deny them a clean sweep of the best times. The promising young driver next heads to Rally Italia Sardegna, where he will target his first WRC3 success.

Clio Trophy France Terre

In Corsica, Benjamin Boulenc became the third different winner in as many rallies this year in the Clio Trophy France Terre. Twelve months after their maiden podium finish on the Rallye Terre d’Aléria, the Frenchman and co-driver Chloé Barozzi-Gauze avoided the many challenges to claim their first win ahead of Tom Pellerey and Hervé Faucher, still leaders in the general classification. Jean-Paul Monnin and Franck Gilliot completed the podium as the Trophy heads into the summer break, which will last until the Rallye Terre de Lozère in late August.

More information here.

German Rally Championship

Clio Rally3 shone in Germany with Carsten Mohe’s third victory on the national scene in as many rounds this season. The German and co-driver Clara Bettge dominated the RC3 category on the asphalt of the Hunsrück Rally, finishing just off the podium to slot into the top five of the German Rally Championship. Clio Rally5 swept the RC5 top three on these same stages, led by Tim Wacker and Luca Kiefer.

Danish Rally Championship

Clio Rally3 continued its impressive sequence of successes in Denmark with a second consecutive win for Carsten Jensen and Michael Fasterholdt. Already victorious in the RC3 class on the Yding Rally, the duo repeated their success on Rally Sønderjylland, finishing tenth overall. Meanwhile, Jacob Egholm and Sarah Haulrik led a podium monopolised by Clio Rally5 in its category.

Ecuador Rally Championship

Clio Rally3 continues to make a name for itself in South America. Already third in the opening round of the Ecuador Rally Championship on Rally F.F.F., the crew of Alejandro Martínez and Andrés Carpio doubled up with a second RC3 victory and another overall podium finish at Rally Caminos de Imbabura. They confirmed their status as title contenders versus the Rally2s with this win.

Dutch Rally Championship

A week after his first Clio Trophy Belgium victory, Nard Ippen excelled in his Clio Rally5, finishing ninth overall on the ELE Rally, round two of the Dutch Rally Championship. The Dutchman and co-driver Mark Bierbooms won in the RC5 class and Dutch Clio Trophy. Meanwhile, Clio Rally3 won in RC3, in the hands of Anja Van Loon and Martine van den Heuvel.

French Rally Cup

In France, Clio Rally3 won with Thomas Battaglia and Marc Della-Pina on the Rallye Savoie Chautagne, while Jérémy Lafarge and Adélie Terrier led an all-Clio Rally5 top-four. Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 also scored several double victories with Sébastien Linotte - Martial Liechty and Axel Delaporte - Clémence Marechal on the Rallye du Val d’Orain, Joris Decou - Christopher Decou and Stéphane Naud - Amelia Proust on the Rallye du Printemps de Bords, and Thierry Bordagaray - Romain Bourse and Willy Mathey - Nelly Guillé on the Rallye du Val de Sèvre. Clio Rally5 rounded off a successful weekend with Julien Deslauriers and Amandine Brunel winning the Rallye de la Briance.

French Junior Rallycross Championship

The eagerly-awaited duel between Valentin Lumet and Gautier Sarhy at Faleyras saw the latter win the most heats before the finals. Still, his rival used his experience to seal his second triumph in 2024. Gauthier Sarhy was involved in a collision at the third turn of the final but held on to second place on home soil ahead of Chanel Launay (Women). Valentin Lumet extends his lead in the general classification over the chase group led by Kelig Gouesbet heading to the next meeting at Châteauroux (22-23 June).

And elsewhere …

Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 won in Belgium with Stefaan Crombez - Niels Decapmaker and Alexander Derez - Barbara Vromman, respectively, on the ORC Canal Rally. An identical double was scored in Italy with Matteo Giordano - Manuela Siragusa and Christian Buccino - Daniela Stagno on the Rally Internazionale del Taro, while Subhan Aksa and Ravindra Mboi led Clio Rally3 to success in their class and fourth place on the Kejuaraan Sprint Rally in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 starred in Spain with wins for José Miguel López - Miguel Montoya and José Luis Moreno - Aitor Cruz on the Rally Ciudad de Jerez. Rubén Muñoz and Javier Martínez also finished on the podium’s top step on Rally Empordà with Clio Rally5. Clio Rally5 enjoyed more success with Mauro Adamuccio and Gabriele Mergola on Rally del Salento (Italy), Alessandro Ferro and Giorgia Colla on Rally Il Grappolo (Italy), Gil Antunes and Paulo Marques on Rali de Famalicão (Portugal), Stanislav Zeman and Ján Konfal on Slovakia Rallye Tatry (Slovakia) and Jure Jereb - Matej Praček on Tiki Rally Velenje (Slovenia).

Lastly, the competition-customer department sends its most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Stan Schwab, a former competitor in the Clio R3T Trophy Alps, who was killed in a fatal accident on the Boucles Capelloises Rally.

Coming up

This weekend, the Clio Cup Series concludes the first half of its season with over 50 drivers from Clio Cup España, Clio Cup Italia, and Clio Cup Mid-Europe in action at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. In rallying, four Clio Rally3s will take part in Rally Italia Sardegna in the FIA World Rally Championship, with Frenchmen Matteo Chatillon, Ghjuvanni Rossi and Tom Pieri and Italian Davide Biancu. Two Clio Rally5s will also be present. Lastly, Noé Armas will try to extend his lead over the chase group in round two of the Clio Trophy Canarias, Rallye Isla de Gran Canaria, after his victory at Rally Islas Canarias.