European Rally Championship

Clio Rally4 remains in the thick of the fight for the European titles after Rally di Roma Capitale. Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi were in contention for victory on home soil, scoring their fourth podium in six FIA ERC4 starts, but also the second in four FIA ERC4 Junior rounds. The crew is now second and third in the respective championships heading to the next round of the calendar, Barum Czech Rally Zlín (26-28 August). In their first Clio Rally4 event of the year, Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti finished third in both categories.

Italian Rally Championship

In parallel to the FIA ERC, Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi won the Campionato Italiano Assoluto Rally Due Ruote Motrici and the CIR Promozione Due Ruote Motrici. Leading from start to finish, the Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT title holders took their third consecutive victory on the national scene by more than two minutes. With the win, they have already clinched the Italian 2WD Rally Championship before the final two events of 2022 : Rally 1000 Miglia (26-28August) and Rally Due Valli (7-8 October).

Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT

Staying in Rome, Paulo Soria and Marcelo Der Ohannesian took a step toward the Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT title. After pushing Italian Andrea Mazzocchi to the limit with four stages to go, the Argentinian controlled the proceedings as soon as he regained the lead and went on for a 38-second margin of victory over Giorgio Cogni - Gabriele Zanni. They now have a 37-point lead over the duo of Sergio Fuentes - Alan Peña, who finished third this weekend. The double points final at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín (26-28 August) will see Paulo Soria, Sergio Fuentes and Giorgio Cogni battle for the crown.

French Gravel Rally Championship

Clio Rally4 also got back in the running for the French 2WD Gravel Rally Championship title at Rallye Terre de Langres Haute-Marne. The Clio Rally4s of Quentin Ribaud - Mélissa Declerck and Jean-Baptiste Franceschi - Amandine Houry led the way until they had problems on SS4. The Fun Meca Sport duo fought their way back onto the podium in just two stages to finish runner-up in Rally4 and in the top ten overall despite a puncture costing them two and a half minutes. With five stage wins in nine timed sectors, the first Clio Trophy France Terre winner is now just three points behind the leader in the general classification ahead of the next round at the Rallye Terre de Lozère (26-28 August).

Clio Trophy France Terre

The plot of round three for the 33 crews in the Clio Trophy France Terre was full of twists and turns. Julien Pontal and co-driver Loan Biagetti won the Rallye Terre de Langres Haute-Marne as the 3P Racing by BHR junior avoided the many hazards of the route to became the fifth different leader and claim the win ahead of the Madagascan twin brothers Mika and Faniry Rasoamaromaka. With a third different winner in as many rallies this season, the title race remains wide-open ahead of round four in Lozère (26-28 August).

Italian Junior Rally Championship

Championship leaders since their victory at the season-opener, Alessandro Casella and Rosario Siragusano returned to the top step of the podium in the Clio Rally5-only category’s return to tarmac. The duo won Rally di Roma Capitale with a 40.2s margin of victory over Davide Nicelli - Tiziano Pieri, winners of the two previous meetings on gravel, and 1:03.1s over Edoardo De Antoni - Martina Musiari. Alessandro Casella extends his lead to eight points over Davide Nicelli and 18 over Mattia Zanin, who finished sixth this weekend with co-driver Giancarla Guzzi. The second to last round of the season will take place at Rally 1000 Miglia (26-28 August).

Elsewhere…

In French Rally Cup, Clio Rally5 scored a 1-2-3-4 in its class as well as a double top ten at Rallye de la Montagne Noire thanks to Julien Rouanet - Delphine Valade and Damien Vaissière - Sébastien Romero. Led by Sylvain Rouquette and Marjorie Mercier, the model also swept the podium on Rallye de Bagnols-les-Bains while also winning the Rallye de Matour with Quentin Saxemard and Sylvie Calegari. Outside France, Clio Rally5 won in RC5 with Jiří Hladík and Richard Lasevič on Rally Příbram (Czech Republic). Wilson Garay dominated his class with Clio Rally5, while finishing fifth on Rally Fiestas Patrias (Peru).

Coming up

This week, the Clio Trophy Turkey will enter the second half of its season at the Kocaeli Rally (30-31 July), as will the Clio Trophy Italia at Rally Lana (30-31 July). Meanwhile, the French Junior Rallycross Championship, which is run exclusively with Clio RX, will be in action at Kerlabo (30-31 July).