Clio Trophy Galicia

Victorious a week earlier in Clio Trophy Spain Asfalto on Rally Recalvi Rías Baixas, Gabriel Rodríguez Gándara kept up the momentum with his maiden Clio Trophy Galicia win this season. Third overall last year, the driver from Mos and co-driver Alejandro Vaqueiro won at the Rallye Sur do Condado 20.8s ahead of Marcos Rodríguez Sanromán and Unai Conde. Third-placed Iván Vázquez and Diego Vázquez denied Álvaro Castro and Isidro Rey a podium finish. Gabriel Rodríguez Gándara’s success moves him 11 points adrift of leader Álvaro Castro ahead of the Rally Ourense-Ribeira Sacra (20-21 September).

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National Championships

Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 triumphed on the GTC Rally, round four of the Dutch Rally Championship. Ben van de Laar and Marlon Krieger, who finished seventh overall and won the trophy dedicated to the Clios on the national scene, led a 1-2-3-4 for Clio Rally3 in RC3. Meanwhile, Nard Ippen and Mark Bierbooms also led a sweep of the top four in RC5 with Clio Rally5 to seal the Clio Rally Trophy title. Clio Rally4 was not to be outdone, winning in RC4 with Uruguayan Ignacio Gardiol and his Argentinian co-driver Rubén García on the gravel of the Rally de Biobío Arauco, round three of the Chilean Rally Championship.

Clio Rally5 also triumphed in RC5 with László Martin and Dániel Gonda on the Székesfehérvár Rally (Hungary), Tomáš Štuksa and Ondřej Novák on Rally Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Leny Cols and Pascal Lopes on Rallye Lëtzebuerg (Luxembourg). Meanwhile, Sebastian Butyński and Paweł Pochroń led Clio Rally5 to victory in two-wheel drive on Rally Košice (Slovakia) for the Polish Championship. At the same time, Stanislav Zeman and Ján Konfal won their class in the regional version of the event. Lastly, Eliott Delecour continued his string of successes in the Clio Rally5 competition in the Romanian Championship. Co-driven by his mother Priscilla, the 16-year-old French teenager also won the RC5, front-wheel drive, Novice and Junior classes at Raliul Sibiului.

French Rally Cup

To celebrate Bastille Day, Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 also did brilliantly in France on the Rallye du 14 Juillet. Fabrice Martin and Marlène Thiriot finished fourth overall and won in Rally3, while Régis Personne and Sandrine Pernot won in Rally5. Still in France, Bastien and Lisa Gouret led Clio Rally5 to a one-two finish in Rally5 at Rallye Le Mans.

And elsewhere…

Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 triumphed at the Rally Internazionale del Casentino (Italy), where Matteo Giordano and Manuela Siragusa led a lockout of the Rally3 podium. In parallel, Christian Buccino and Daniela Stagno set the pace in Rally5. Fellow Clio Rally5 competitors Chiara Lombardi and Susanna Mazzetti won the Women’s category.

In Mexico, Clio Rally5 caused a sensation by winning overall with Gustavo Uriostegui and David Hernández on Rally Otomí. André Freitas and Agostinho Bettencourt also won in Rally5 on the Rali da Ribeira Brava (Portugal), Mattia Grassi and David Barichello on the Rally del Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy), and Giovanni Marco Lanzalaco and Antonio Marchica on the Rally di Caltanissetta (Italy).

Coming up

This week, two of the youngest drivers at Tet Rally Latvia will be in action in their respective Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally4 to take on this new round on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar. Following on from his podium finish on home soil in the FIA ERC, Estonia’s Joosep Ralf Nõgene will be behind the wheel of his Clio Rally3 in the WRC3, while Belgium’s Thomas Martens, the youngest driver in the field, will start the event with Clio Rally4.