Jean-Sébastien, how did you get your start in rallying ?
I started off in cross-car, where I was runner-up in the French Championship in 2002, before embarking on my first feeder series - the Saxo Rallycross Challenge - to finish top Junior. At the end of the year, there was the prize-giving ceremony. By winning the Junior categories of the Saxo Rally and Saxo T4 Challenges, Yoann Bonato and Guerlain Chicherit won a drive for the following year. All I got was a handshake from Guy Fréquelin. I told my parents I had to find a way to get into rallying. Otherwise, I’d stop everything. My title allowed me to move up to rallying through a conversion kit, and in 2004, I debuted in this discipline. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I’d done autocross and rallycross with my father, and my only memories of rallying go back to my childhood when he took me to see Jean Ragnotti during a night special stage at the Rallye du Limousin on a Friday evening after school. I didn’t know anything about it, and social networks weren’t what they are today. I didn’t even know what a check-in was. I also had to make a pace note system. As I played PlayStation in those days, I copied and pasted from one to six, between full speed and big turn, and off I went !

How did your debut go ?
I set the third-best time out of forty entries in my first stage in Rouergue. Everyone congratulated me, but I didn’t really understand what I was doing right or wrong. I remember asking my co-driver on the road if a scratch time was possible in the next timed sector, but he said I was crazy and that rallying didn’t work like that. I had won every weekend in rallycross, so I told myself I wouldn’t stay third. In the end, I didn’t post a single scratch time. I nearly crashed the car during the night and retired due to a mechanical problem when I was fifth. At the end of the season, my performances and first fastest times earned me the title of Espoir Échappement, but in retrospect, it was rather folkloric. I scared myself three times per corner !

You clearly enjoyed the experience, as you’re still here, nearly two decades later !
I wanted to succeed more than anything else, but I got a tad bogged down once elected Espoir Échappement. I was young, a bit alone, without much means or advice. I made some mistakes, particularly in my choice of competition. That’s why the start of my career has been up and down. I also had some questionable strategies, aiming only for the fastest times. Except that it didn’t work after a while... But I persevered with one thing leading to another, and I went on to do some fine things.

Like your victory in the French Rally Cup in 2008 ?
For example. After that first season in the single-make cup, I stayed on in 2005 and 2006, but I was barely getting by. Because of my limited budget, I drove with second-hand tyres, so the results weren’t always there. Then everything came to a halt in 2007. I didn’t have a programme, but I met Jean-Pierre Lacorre, a businessman in the Limoges region. He lent me his Polo for a rally, which I won in the N2 category. Then he swapped it for a Clio N3, which he let me drive on the Rallye du Médoc. It was my first experience with a direct-drive dog clutch gearbox, and I nearly thought I was a real driver. And I won overall for the first time, ahead of the kit-cars on damp roads ! Jean-Pierre told me he had what I needed in his garage for the next step, a Clio Maxi in 2008. From a simple regional rally at the start of the year, we ended up in the French Championship and won the French Cup final. It was a superb year with the Clio Maxi, which was a hell of a car. It really gave me the chance to get back into the swing of things and do the 2009 season with an S2000, the big category at the time.

What came next ?
On and off again... As many people know, I lost my driving licence at Mont-Blanc. After that, I drove sporadically, without a full programme, apart from the DS3 Trophy in 2012. We were well on the way to achieving my goal of winning a feeder series, but the gearbox broke in the last round in Var. Then I went back to making appearances here and there, with a few decent results but not a full season. In the meantime, I also got back into rallycross, where I finished runner-up in France’s Super 1600 in 2017 and in France’s Supercar in 2019.

Why did you choose the Clio Trophy France Terre this year ?
I’d done the whole rallycross thing, but we had a Clio. Gravel rallies don’t take too much time away from work commitments, and competing on equal terms with the same car always appeals to me. My co-driver, Amandine Borderie, was motivated, and I also got a taste for gravel during the development of Clio Rally3. We set off for the Causses without any pretensions. I didn’t know what position to expect or how many seconds per kilometre behind I would be. I didn’t do a single metre of testing as my main focus was to have fun. We discovered everything on the spot during the recce loop !

Was having a particular relationship with Clio Rally5 a factor ?
I was lucky enough to be involved in the development of Clio Rally5, Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally3. The arrival of Clio Rally5 was a genuine breakthrough for me. I was one of the first to run it on gravel in France, with Florian Bernardi at the 2020 Rallye Terre de Castine. We won our class and finished second in the two-wheel drive category behind Franceschi’s Rally4. Some might think that this car doesn’t look like much on the outside, but it’s just amazing on the inside. It’s nothing but fun, whether it’s on tarmac or gravel. I knew I would enjoy myself, which was the main reason I came to the Clio Trophy France Terre.

And you won the first two rounds of the calendar...
I wanted to put my maiden victory in Causses into perspective. The stages were greasy, and I’ve known for 15 years that I always do well in these rather complicated conditions. Yannick Roche was my co-driver at Castine and everything went really well. We pushed hard from the start and won. I decided to continue the season as there were only five rounds, but we had to be smart if we were to achieve something. Aléria was a real wake-up call. We started rather boastfully, but rallying is still a mechanical sport. We had an issue on Saturday, but you must know how to finish and pick up points when you can’t win, as a well-known French rally champion would say. We had to be patient, but it wasn’t easy. I don’t care for driving like a spectator, which was the case on Sunday, so I arrived in Lozère with my teeth scraping the floor. That was perhaps my best rally ever. I pushed and enjoyed myself in the car all weekend.

Could you have lost the title ?
Everything came together in Lozère, but luck played its part. To win the title, I had to win and finish in the top five in the Power Stage. We won the Power Stage, but we still had to finish. In the final stage, we had a puncture after eight kilometres. We drove the last 15 kilometres on the rim. Inevitably, at that moment, I felt all our efforts had been in vain, but Matteo had a problem, and other competitors punctured in the same place as us while losing more time because they stopped to change the wheel. It was a long wait, but I realised I had finally won a single-make cup !

This year, you’ve often said that you feel like a 20-year-old driver but with 20 years’ experience. What do you mean by that ?
I have been able to do things the way I would have liked to at the start of my career. At the time, I couldn’t for various reasons, but it’s freed me up. I also think I work more at 40 than I did at 20. Videos weren’t as significant for my generation, who were more ’talent-driven’ to use the expression. For example, I used to tape my mother’s camcorder to the dashboard but didn’t study the images. Nowadays, you have no chance if you don’t do that. I have worked harder than ever on this aspect and it paid off.

What did you think of the ambitious young drivers who were hot on your heels ?
There are some super-fast drivers, especially four or five Juniors. I know that my experience helped me make the difference. You know that there are times when you get the upper hand in the construction of a rally or other aspects after 20 years in this sport. However, their sheer speed was incredible. It made me want to push and push again. I remember some stages that we thought were perfect, but they were all there and sometimes ahead of us. I also believe that Clio Rally5 is so ’permissible’ that the new generations can safely push hard. And we must also remember that they are coming to compete for the official drive. That’s why there are so many promising young competitors, which explains why the Clio Trophy France Terre is a success.

Would you have liked to have started your career with this car ?
If I were to start rallying today, absolutely. My advice has always been clear : you have to go through the feeder series. In fact, we do it for youngsters in rallycross. In my opinion, it’s the only way to drive, learn and hope for anything in motorsport. Everyone has the same car to compete on equal terms, and this Clio is all the simpler to run, easier to drive and extremely enjoyable. Clearly, it’s the ideal car to get started with or have fun with, as I’m sure you’ll agree !

Why did you start Vigion Promosport ?
I set up my structure just before the pandemic, and it all came together in the French Junior Rallycross Championship, where some young drivers asked me to coach them. I wanted to develop the idea by integrating them alongside us. It all took off from there, and we finished in the top two places in the French Junior Rallycross Championship last year with Tom Le Jossec and Mathieu Fretin. I’m not just talking to hear myself talk when I say that feeder series are a must. We do believe in it and use it to help our protégés grow before they move on to the higher categories. In rallying, the structure is more devoted to me. I’m an insurance agent during the week, so I don’t always have the time to do things as they should be done for customers. So I do it for myself, with family and friends.

Was the national two-wheel drive title the icing on the cake ?
It’s definitely been a dream season, even though it was not planned a week before the Rallye Terre des Causses. Ultimately, I won the Clio Trophy France Terre and the French Gravel Rally Championship in Two-Wheel Drive. I went to Vaucluse to seal this crown, where I had every possible problem. It was as if everything I hadn’t had all year had come together at this event. We knew what we were there for, and we held on, even though I missed the atmosphere of the trophy. This second title rewards the work of everyone who helped me and those who supported me. I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to them, as I couldn’t have done it without them.

What’s next and what can we hope for you ?
We knew that the only programme at stake would go to the best Junior, and I think it’s only fair that we should make room for the youngsters growing up behind us. For my part, I’m weighing up my options for 2024. In an ideal world, I’d like to be in a Rally2. Drivers of my generation are having a great time with these cars, like Yoann Bonato on tarmac, but these programmes are complicated to put together. There’s a desire to do something on gravel in four-wheel drive, but I’m also thinking about the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, because I think it could be fun. I talked about it after my title in Lozère, and I regret I couldn’t go to the Coeur de France, but unfortunately, I can’t be everywhere. Besides, my son is pushing to take up karting next year. I don’t have much room for error. He’s started taking my trophies off the shelves to put his first little trophies on. I think the message has gotten through, so I will have to make some really pertinent choices !