Leader of the general classification before the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine, Arthur Pelamourgues was unstoppable in the Alps. Co-driven by Bastien Pouget, the 24-year-old Frenchman edged out a trio of crews covered by two seconds to secure his second win of the season. Arthur Pelamourgues’ success means he has mathematically clinched the Junior title, an official programme in 2025, and the Clio Trophy France Asphalte crown.

Thirty-seven Renault Clio Rally5s were in Morzine for the resumption of the Clio Trophy France Asphalte. The penultimate round of the calendar began with a rainy shakedown on Thursday before Arthur Pelamourgues, Samuel Lay, Willy Mathey, and Enzo Mavounzy each won a tyre in a draw organised by Ceerta, the official Michelin Motorsport distributor of the French Rally Championship.

Back for the first time since the 2021 edition, Antoine Massé caused a sensation right from the start of Friday’s action. The Eleven Motorsport driver won the first stage by a tenth of a second on greasy roads between Montriond le Lac and Avoriaz. Third in SS1, Arthur Pelamourgues hit back in the drier conditions of Samoëns - Morzine, while the first loop saw Samuel Lay and Julien Deslauriers Sablonnière’s title hopes quashed after they were both caught out early on.

Antoine Massé regained the advantage early in the afternoon, but Benjamin Barnouin posted back-to-back best times to take the lead in the SS4. Yoan Corberand set the pace on the two following stages, but Benjamin Barnouin took a 5.7s lead before the cancellation of the night stage due to misplaced spectators. The GMC Compétition driver returned to the service park ahead of Arthur Pelamourgues, Antoine Massé and Yoan Corberand.

The battle for victory escalated on Saturday morning as the four leading contenders shared the fastest times on the day’s first four timed sectors. Benjamin Barnouin opened up a gap in Lullin - Orcier 2, but Arthur Pelamourgues answered in Draillant - Fessy 2, as did Yoan Corberand in Bonnevaux - Le Biot 2 and then Antoine Massé in Montriond le Lac - Avoriaz saw his lead dwindle to 1.6s. Thirteen seconds back, Yoan Corberand was lurking, closely followed by Antoine Massé.

The final loop proved decisive. Antoine Massé once again confirmed that he had lost none of his talent, scoring maximum Power Stage Jean Ragnotti points in La Côte d’Arbroz - Sommand. Arthur Pelamourgues took the second place to regain the lead while relegating Benjamin Barnouin to 16.3s adrift. Now ideally placed in the quest for the Junior title, the driver from Rodez approached the final stages calmly while the battle raged on behind him.

Victorious in the season-opening Le Touquet rally, Arthur Pelamourgues sealed his victory on one of the finest events on the French rally scene. He won 12.9s ahead of Antoine Massé, whose attack in the final kilometres helped him snatch second place by 1.1s from Benjamin Barnouin. Yoan Corberand, who set the fastest time on the Col de Joux Plane, finished off the podium by less than a second. Romain Fostier completed the top five after a hard-fought duel with Lucas Zielinski. Overshadowed by the battle at the front, the contest for seventh place was just as fascinating and ultimately went to Enzo Beschet, who led a group of six drivers covered by 26.4s at the finish.

With the win, combined with the results of his rivals, Arthur Pelamourgues mathematically clinched both the Clio Trophy France Asphalte and the Junior category titles. However, the Aveyron native will have to start the opening special stage of the final round of the calendar to win the crown officially. The new winner of France’s most competitive feeder series will have to fight hard to continue his adventure with Fun Meca Sport in 2025 as Jeremy Brissiaud’s squad is back on top in the teams standings, but David Automobiles, PH Sport and Sébastien Loeb Racing are all still in title contention to service Arthur Pelamourgues’ future ride.

In the other classifications, Arthur Pelamourgues is in an excellent position to win the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage Trophy for the second year running. After Pascal Bérard’s and Charlotte Olea’s victories, the Gentlemen’s and Women’s titles are still up for grabs, as is the Renault Network Challenge, where David Automobiles currently leads.

Meanwhile, Benjamin and Florence Stirling claimed their third consecutive win and fourth podium in four appearances with the official Castrol Clio Rally3. The Sébastien Loeb Racing team completed another grand slam to lead a 1-2-3-4 for the model in its category. Like the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, the duo will finish its programme next month at the Critérium des Cévennes (24-26 October).

Arthur Pelamourgues : "This title means a lot to us. To fully understand it, you have to go back to our debut in 2022. An extremely violent crash marked that first experience, and it affected us for a long time. We worked tirelessly with our small team, but other troubles prematurely ended our season. In 2023, we had the pace to win, but I went off 500 metres from the finish in Le Touquet, and other problems kept dogging us later on. There were some tough moments, so this crown is a huge relief. My thoughts are with my team and Fun Meca Sport. Their support has been exceptional, especially when things got tough. The setbacks were tough to accept back then, but with hindsight, they have forged us. During this particularly stressful rally, they taught us to stay calm, manage our race, and pish when needed to win the title. As an amateur enthusiast, getting behind the wheel of an official Renault is a dream come true, almost a grail. I’d also like to thank all the people from the amateur world, often very discreet, who played a crucial role in the most trying moments. I know that they were following us this weekend, and this is the best way of thanking them. Lastly, the atmosphere in this trophy is simply exceptional. Even the retired competitors stuck around, as we’ve done for them. The spirit is incredible, and it’s a real dream to race in such a competitive and friendly competition."

Clio Trophy France Asphalte – Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine*
1. Arthur Pelamourgues – Bastien Pouget (J) 1h54m07.6s
2. Antoine Massé – Melvine Pitois +12.9s
3. Benjamin Barnouin – Romain Garel (J) +14.0s
4. Yoan Corberand – Pauline Compozieux +14.9s
5. Romain Fostier – Ophélie Abchiche +53.5s
6. Lucas Zielinski – Alexia Desnoyer (J) +1m02.0s
7. Enzo Beschet – Emmanuel Guinchard (J) +2m20.8s
8. Tom Vauclare – Frédéric Vauclare (J) +2m27.5s
9. Paul Dachicourt – Adèle Dachicourt (J) +2m34.9s
10. Maxence Potard – Albin Goutry-André (J) +2m35.8s
11. Thomas Santiago – Guillaume François (J) +2m43.6s
12. Kévin Duc – Séverine Chamiot-Maitral (J) +2m47.2s
13. Jérôme Janny – Aurélien Beaudouin +3m14.5s
14. Marc Pompei – Yoann Raffaelli (J) +3m28.4s
15. Nicolas Paviet-Roche – Tony Ponsot +3m58.5s
16. Anthony Diel – Yannis Gosselin +4m00.0s
17. Jean-Claude Pietri – Jean-François Muselli (J) +5m27.4s
18. Pascal Bérard – Caroline Bérard (G) +5m29.4s
19. Charlotte Olea – Cécile Pages (J, F) +6m43.9s
20. Franck Giraud – Sylvain Guillaume (G) +7m24.4s
21. Robin Mercier – Laurent Mercier (J) +8m38.8s
22. Clément Didier – Rémy Germain (J) +9m40.1s
23. Baptiste Voillaume – Jean-Marc Mulot +10m06.9s
24. Jacques Bourrat – Jean Bourrat (G) +10m51.0s
25. Frédéric Misiek – Valérie Misiek (G) +10m52.5s
26. Benjamin Herail – Emma Bonnemort +14m27.6s
27. Enzo Mavounzy – Romain Gavoye (J) +23m19.4s
28. Remy Narbon – Emeline Vo Dinh (J) +26m44.8s
Ab. Néo Rivallant – Nicolas Blanc (J)
Ret. Amaury Facchinetti – Corentin Degut (J)
Ret. Teddy Turco – Aurélie Védrine (J)
Ret. Jean-Pierre Lejeune – Geneviève Arnavielhe (G)
Ret. Nicolas Vanderweerde – Therry Closter
Ret. Willy Mathey – Cédric Causse (G)
Ret. David Jeanne – Stéphanie Rivallant
Ret. Julien Deslauriers – Amandine Brunel
Ret. Samuel Lay – Thomas Walbrecq (J)
* subject to results being made official after final scrutineering

Clio Trophy France Asphalte - Power Stage Jean Ragnotti Trophy - Teams Standings - Renault Network Challenge