Clio Cup Series

Sixty years after the debut of the Renault 8 Gordini Cup, the Clio Cup Series delivered a spectacular start to the season at Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro. In front of 33,550 spectators gathered for the traditional Easter meeting, GPA Racing dominated the weekend with two pole positions, two 1-2-3 finishes and emotional victories for Alexandre Finkelstein and Damiano Puccetti. Separated by 0.003s at the finish of the second race, the two drivers now share the championship lead ahead of the next round at Circuit Paul Ricard (April 24–26).

In the Gers, the fifth-generation Clio Cup also made its mark in the FFSA TC French Championship, with Thomas Leal securing victory in the TCA class in the first race of the weekend.

More information here.

French Gravel Rally Championship & Clio Trophy France Terre

In their second event with the official Clio Rally3, Mika Rasoamaromaka and Mélissa Declerck once again showcased their potential by leading most of the Rallye Terre des Causses, building a lead of more than two minutes after winning each of the first nine special stages. The Fun Meca Sport crew seemed set for another win until a late technical issue dropped them to fifth. Despite this, Clio Rally3 secured its class and the GT2i CFR FFSA Trophy with Jérôme Jacquot and Jean-Christophe Delcambre.

In Clio Trophy France Terre, Alexandre Brossy, Yohan Saillat, and Julien Malta competed for victory. After a tight opening, Brossy gained the upper hand in SS4. Saillat challenged, but Brossy and co-driver Sébastien Enjalbert secured their maiden win by avoiding punctures. Romain Sagnes and Frédéric Vincent completed the podium. As a result, Alexandre Brossy will head into the final round at Rallye Terre des Cardabelles (9–11 October) atop the general classification.

Mika Rasoamaromaka : “After a good first round at Terre de Castine, we wanted to back that up at Rallye Terre des Causses, and everything went very well for most of the weekend. We dominated the Rally3 class and were also on the verge of the top ten overall. We were 12th before the final stage, which would have been a very good result given the very strong field and the number of Rally2 entries. Unfortunately, a technical issue cost us eight minutes, the Rally3 victory and a solid overall result. It’s obviously a huge disappointment, but that’s motorsport. I would nevertheless like to thank Renault and Fun Meca Sport for their hard work, as we competed in excellent conditions throughout the weekend.”

Alexandre Brossy : “We approached the Rallye Terre des Causses like any other, with the main aim of enjoying ourselves, especially as Sébastien is still in the early stages of his rallying career, having competed in only his second event. Unlike at Castine, we took care to avoid punctures, and we succeeded, allowing us to get our revenge in this round. Even though the wait will be a bit long, we’re looking forward to Rallye Terre des Cardabelles to reunite with the Alpine Racing team, try to hold onto our position, and keep having as much fun as we can.”

Turkish Rally Championship

Clio Rally5 took top honours at the opening round of the Turkish Rally Championship.
Ugur Kaban and Mert Kaya won the RC5 class on the wet tarmac of the Marmaris Ege Rallisi, whilst finishing just off the podium in the two-wheel-drive category. The event also saw Sinan Soylu and Ali Emre Yilmaz secure a top-five finish in their class aboard their Clio Rally3.

French Rally Cup

In France, Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 won at Rallye Pays de Grasse, Fleurs & Parfums with Laurent Gonzales - Philippe Gonzales and Jean-Jacques Ferrier - Yann Ferrier. Clio Rally4 and Clio Rally5 did the same at Rallye Pays du Gier with Baptiste Portier - Mathilde Viceriat and Christophe Monnin - Marc-Émilien Choudey, whilst Clio Rally5 was also victorious with Frédéric Aizier and Ophélie Beluche at Rallye de l’Anguison.

Meanwhile, Renault made a strong impression at Rallye du Pays de Lohéac, securing a top-five finish overall and a class victory for the Clio Rally3 of Antoine Bordagaray and Alan Autegarden, as well as a win for the Clio Rally5 with Hugo Dénié and Evann Guille. Clio Rally4 won the support event outright with Thierry Landais and Morgan Lefebvre, whilst Anthony Jaffrelot and Néo Rivallant set the pace in their class with Clio Rally5.

The range was equally impressive at Rallye de Faverges with Thomas Battaglia and Grégory Fressard (Rally3) and Nicolas Paviet-Roche - Mélodie Bellavarde (Rally5) as well as at the Neufchâtel-en-Bray Rally with Ludovic Lemoine - Antoine Brument (Rally3), Thomas Simeon - Lucas Ferrand (Rally5), and James Briffard - Théo Pallu (FR6).

German Rally Cup

Clio Rally3 and Clio Rally5 set the pace in their respective classes during the fourth round of the Deutscher Rallye Cup calendar at the ADAC-MSC Osterrallye Zerf. Dutchmen Willem Wouter Overbeek and Renaldo Lier led a 1-2 finish for the model in the RC3 class, whilst Marco Thomas and Lisa Meyer won in RC5 with their Clio Rally5.

Greek Tarmac Rally Cup

Renault continued its fine run in Greece, this time with a double win at the Egion Rally Sprint, the opening round of the Greek Tarmac Rally Cup. Efstratios Andreadakis and Giorgos Polichronopoulos finished fourth overall and led the way in RC3 in their Clio Rally3. Alexandros Mourikis and Nikos Tsakiris triumphed in RC5 aboard their Clio Rally5.

Elsewhere

In Denmark, Clio Rally3 secured another overall 1-2 in the opening round of the Dansk Rally Sprint Cup Vest with Kim and Mikkel Abildgaard, winning ahead of Carsten Jensen and Michael Fasterholdt. Clio Rally5 also shone with Ulrik Pedersen and Iben von Hallas, leading a 1-2-3 finish for the model in its class a week after Gert Marboe Jensen and Silas Marboe’s victory in the opening round of the Dansk Rally Sprint Cup Øst.