FIA European Rally Championship

Clio Rally5 scored another European success on Barum Czech Rally Zlín. At round six of the calendar, the Romanian crew of Ciprian Lupu and Andrei Aițculesei led a 1-2 finish in RC5 while finishing fourth in ERC4. On the same Czech stages, success eluded Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally4 despite three stage wins for Hubert Kowalczyk and Jarosław Hryniuk, who were in contention for victory in ERC3 before crashing out on SS8. However, the Poles had shone a week earlier on their home tarmac, winning RC3 and Class 3 at the Rajd Rzeszowski.

Chilean Rally Championship

Ignacio Gardiol won on the Rally de Ñuble Quillón with Clio Rally4. Co-driven by Argentina’s Rubén García, the Uruguayan dominated the first six stages in RC4 and Rally4 before managing his pace in the Power Stage to seal his double victory with a lead of almost a minute and a half. With this performance, synonymous with an overall top-five result, Ignacio Gardiol is back in title contention ahead of Rally Chile BIOBÍO. Round five of the season will also host the FIA World Rally Championship in late September.

Danish Rally Championship

Clio Rally3 continued its fine run of victories in Denmark on Rally Juelsminde, with Carsten Jensen taking his fourth RC3 win in as many rounds contested so far this season on the national calendar. Navigated by Carsten Bjerregaard, the Dane dominated proceedings in his class to win by nearly a minute. Meanwhile, Oliver Sørensen and Frederik Bülow Glad led an all-Clio Rally5 podium in RC5.

Estonian Rally Championship

A few weeks after securing Clio Rally3’s maiden win in the WRC3, Joosep Ralf Nõgene and Aleks Lesk continued to impress. Held in Latvia, the Rallijs Cēsis was round five of the Estonian Championship, and the duo avoided the course challenges to finish fourth overall. Second in their national competition, the Estonians also won the EMV3 by 4.6s.

German Rally Championship

All three fifth-generation Renault Clio rally variants shone on the German tarmac at round six of the 2024 season, the ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg. Sixth overall, Dutchmen Jim van den Heuvel and Jouri Dockx made it four wins for the RC3 model, edging out Germany’s Carsten Mohe and Clara Bettge, who were penalised ten seconds for a late check-in. Meanwhile, the Swedish duo of Simon Andersson and Jörgen Jönsson won the RC4 and two-wheel drive classes, respectively, while Danes Oliver Sørensen and Frederik Bülow Glad dominated RC5 with Clio Rally5.

Uruguayan Rally Championship

For the fourth time in five events this season, Clio Rally5 finished on the overall podium of a round of the Uruguayan Rally Championship. On the gravel of the Rally de Minas, Rodrigo Fialho and Rodrigo Arbiza finished second overall while leading a sweep of the top three in RC4 Light for Clio Rally5, with Jorge Alfaro - Martín Villete and Federico Antúnez - Pablo Bieito also in the overall top five. Lastly, Brazilians Leandro Brustolin and Andrey Karpinski led a lockout of the top four for Clio Rally5 in RC4N.

French Rally Cup

Clio Rally3, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 continued to set the pace in France. Clio Rally3 won overall with Arthur Beylard and Rémi Jardel on Rallye 24 Dordogne Périgord, while Frédéric Meurant - Kévin Aumeunier and Eric Sauteur - Cindy Millac dominated in Rally4 and Rally5. Anthony Faucher and Renaud Desmereau (Rally3), Alex Gandrieau and Mallaurie Gardrat (Rally4) and Franck Pierre and Camille Picoulet (Rally5) completed a hat-trick of wins on the Rallye des 12 Travaux d’Hercule. Also in France, Clio Rally5 won its class with Tom and Frédéric Vauclare on the Rallye du Pays Saint-Affricain, with Pascal Donnadieu and Laurent Delmas on the Rallye de Saint-Germain-la-Campagne and with Jérémy Lafarge and Adélie Terrier on the Rallye du Sel.

Clio Cup Great Britain

Ben Colburn (Westbourne Motorsport) and Nicky Taylor (Graves Motorsport) came up winners in round three of the Clio Cup GB at Snetterton. Ben Colburn started from pole and led race one from start to finish to claim his third win of 2024. Nicky Taylor surprised poleman Daire Flock (Westbourne Motorsport) on the opening lap of race two before leading the top three to the finish within 647/1000ths of a second of each other. Ben Colburn now leads the general classification before the next meeting at Donington Park (14-15 September).

And elsewhere…

Clio Rally5 also starred in several European rallies, with a class victory in Belgium for Leny Cols and Pascal Lopes at the Rally van Staden and in Spain with Francisco Puertas and Miriam Antelo Ramírez at the Rallysprint de Carbayín. Clio Rally5 also made a name for itself on the other side of the Atlantic, with Char García and Eduardo Solís finishing on the overall podium and second in the Open category on the tarmac of Rally Ruta del Sol (Mexico).

Coming up

This weekend, the Clio Cup Series returns to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours with forty-four drivers in action. The sixth meeting of the season will also host the penultimate round of the Clio Cup France and the third Clio Cup Mid-Europe clash of the year.

📸 ADAC Motorsport / Gary Hawkins / Renzo Rodríguez (CUR) / Luis Barra