There were some additions for round two with five new competitors. Third in the 2022 Clio Ice Trophy, Mathieu Lannepoudenx was back with the Brunet Competition team for his first appearance of the year. Baptiste Panissié, seen in the Clio Trophy France Terre last year, made his debut on snow, teaming up with rallycross regular Louka Bourd in a Renault Clio Rally5 for WRM by Chanoine Motorsport / SRD Racing. Meanwhile, Helena Ferrer (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport) and Nicolas Flon (RX Evolution) also got their first taste of the Clio Ice Trophy.

DYLAN DUFAS TAKES ADVANTAGE OF ENZO LUCOTTE’S MISFORTUNES

Situated at an altitude of 2,400 metres above sea level, this Pas de la Casa Circuit layout was longer (817 metres) with slightly more distinct curves than a fortnight ago. Round one winner David Bouet set the pace from the first group on track. Even with the efforts of his challengers, the leader of the general classification led the way with the best time of 1:03.154s to lead Dylan Dufas (RX Evolution) and Lucas Darmezin in the practice sessions.

Qualifying was a different story. Dylan Dufas jumped to the top of the order ahead of David Bouet in the first series before Enzo Lucotte (Pit Stop France) took the lead with a lap of 1:03.195s. The Frenchman could have again taken the maximum intermediate points by preceding Dylan Dufas, but the latter finally took the fifteen points on offer due to a puncture that prevented his rival to complete the session and thus be eligible to score points according to article 17 of the GSeries regulations.

BOUET AND DARMEZIN FIGHT BACK IN THE FINALS

On pole position for the Final B, Dylan Dufas struggled at the start and fell to seventh place. Meanwhile, David Bouet took the lead before gradually extending his advantage to win with a 16-second advantage over his closest chaser, Baptiste Panissie. Despite his poor getaway, Dylan Dufas made several overtaking moves in the next five laps to steal third place from Joaquin Rodrigo (Brunet Competition), who was also surprised by Mauro Polderman (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport) on the last lap. Stephan Polderman (RX Evolution) and Helena Ferrer (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport) rounded out the order.

An unlucky poleman a fortnight ago, Enzo Lucotte was caught out again at the start, slipping behind Lucas Darmezin and Alex Español (Driveland / Puzzle Motorsport). While Lucas Darmezin built a comfortable lead, Enzo Lucotte regained the advantage over the Andorran, but the latter retaliated two laps later to secure second place, six seconds behind the winner and set the best lap of the day in 1:00.734s. Fourth-place finisher Nicolas Flon resisted the comeback of teammate Bryan Dufas (RX Evolution), who also had a less-than-ideal opening lap, with Mathieu Lannepoudenx next in the finishing order. Snow racing newcomer Louka Bourd completed the order In the Final A.

With two Finals wins so far, David Bouet now enjoys a six-point lead over Dylan Dufas in the general classification. Lucas Darmezin, who scored the most points in this second round, is up to third overall, 14 units behind his teammate and Clio Ice Trophy leader. Alex Español, Enzo Lucotte, Joaquin Rodrigo and Bryan Dufas are still in the hunt and can claim the leadership at the next meeting scheduled for Saturday on a new layout of Pas de la Casa Circuit.

Round 2 – Final classification
1. Lucas Darmezin 38 points
2. David Bouet 36 points
3. Dylan Dufas 32 points
4. Alex Español 30 points
5. Baptiste Panissie 26 points
6. Bryan Dufas 18 points
7. Mauro Polderman 18 points
8. Enzo Lucotte 17 points
9. Nicolas Flon 17 points
10. Joaquin Rodrigo 13 points
11. Mathieu Lannepoudenx 9 points
12. Stephan Polderman 8 points
13. Helena Ferrer 5 points
14. Louka Bourd 5 points

General classification Round 2/4
1. David Bouet 70 points
2. Dylan Dufas 64 points
3. Lucas Darmezin 56 points
4. Alex Español 51 points
5. Enzo Lucotte 49 points
6. Joaquin Rodrigo 38 points
7. Bryan Dufas 36 points
8. Mauro Polderman 29 points
9. Baptiste Panissie 26 points
10. Anthony Ghesquiere 24 points
11. Nicolas Flon 17 points
12. Marin Le Jossec 16 points
13. Jérémy Sarhy 15 points
14. Tom Le Jossec 13 points
15. Stephan Polderman 13 points
16. Mathieu Lannepoudenx 9 points
17. Markel De Zabaleta 8 points
18. Helena Ferrer 5 points
19. Louka Bourd 5 points
20. Alain Cusimano 3 points

All results are available here.

ABOUT THE CLIO ICE TROPHY

Introduced in 2022, the Clio Ice Trophy offers spectacular races on ice on the Pas de la Casa circuit in Andorra. Run in conjuction with the GSeries, the Clio Ice Trophy draws on synergies within Renault Group, including the experience of Alpine Racing customer racing department based in Viry-Châtillon and the competition department at the Alpine Dieppe Jean Rédélé Manufacture. For its second edition, the Clio Ice Trophy will take place over four rounds and as many different track configurations of the highest altitude permanent circuit in the world.

ABOUT RENAULT

Renault, a historic mobility brand and pioneer of electric vehicles in Europe, has always developed innovative vehicles. With the ‘Renaulution’ strategic plan, Renault has embarked on an ambitious, value-generating transformation moving towards a more competitive, balanced and electrified range. Its ambition is to embody modernity and innovation in technology, energy and mobility services in the automotive industry and beyond.