Thirty crews gathered in the Hauts-de-France region to kick off season seven of Clio Trophy France Asphalte. Among them, Paul Dachicourt, Jérôme Janny and Fabien Combe won a Michelin tyre in a prize draw organised by Ceerta, the official Michelin Motorsport distributor in the French Rally Championship.

Winner of the 2022 Rallye Jeunes detection programme, Maxence Potard hit the ground running from the very first kilometres. In his first appearance in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte since the 2024 Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine, he set the fastest time in SS1 before engaging in a thrilling duel with Paul Dachicourt. On home soil, Dachicourt won the Verchocq–Wicquinghem stage by 0.1s but the leader immediately responded with two consecutive fastest times to reach the service park with a 5.5s advantage.

The tension mounted on Friday evening in conditions made even more treacherous by the rain. Maxence Potard again dictated the pace between Créquy and Saint-Michel-sous-Bois before the neutralisation of SS6. When the action resumed, Paul Dachicourt narrowed the gap slightly, but his rival responded immediately in the fog between Camiers and Longvilliers to finish the first leg with a 19.2s lead.

The return of the sun on Saturday morning did nothing to lessen the difficulties of the challenge. Paul Dachicourt went on the attack again in Aix-en-Issart – Sempy before the two contenders for victory were neck and neck in Hucqueliers – Parenty, the longest special stage of the route at nearly 30 kilometres. However, this stage took its toll in the battle for third place, as Loan Guibal made a mistake whilst Oliver Sørensen saw his hopes vanish after a puncture.

In the final loop, Maxence Potard continued to hold off Paul Dachicourt’s attacks. The two were even clocked with the same time again on their second run through Hucqueliers – Parenty. Leading from start to finish, Maxence Potard secured his first victory in Clio Trophy France Asphalte. The 22-year-old won both the overall and Juniors class honours, finishing 15.3s ahead of Paul Dachicourt, whilst Romain Brun joined them on the podium on his debut in the trophy.

Louis Gass and Thomas Santiago rounded out the top five. After a fine charge in the final few kilometres, Alex Florenson finished sixth ahead of Romain Fostier, the leading Gentlemen driver, and Théo Jacquemet. Jérôme Janny and Fabien Combe completed the top ten. Defending Women’s champion Charlotte Oléa began her title defence with a victory in this category.

Maxence Potard takes the lead in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte and the Jean Ragnotti Performer classification, in both cases ahead of Paul Dachicourt. GL Automobiles, meanwhile, leads the Renault Network Challenge thanks to Alex Florenson’s efforts.

Another highlight of the weekend was Lucas Zielinski, who impressed on his first appearance in a Clio Rally3. The 2025 Clio Trophy France Asphalte Junior champion and co-driver Ewen Leenhardt dominated their class across the course’s 12 special stages. Finishing fourteenth overall, the duo even clocked the eighth-fastest time overall in SS8, contested at night and in foggy conditions. Buoyed by this first experience, the David Auto Compétition crew are now turning their attention to their next challenge : the Rally Sierra Morena, the opening round of the FIA European Rally Championship, from 17 to 19 April.

Following this spectacular opening round, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte competitors will head to Gérardmer for the Rallye Vosges Grand Est from 12 to 14 June. In the meantime, round two of the Clio Trophy France Gravel takes place this week at the Rallye Terre des Causses (3–5 April).

Maxence Potard : “We weren’t expecting a result like this. We were hoping to be in contention, so we’re absolutely delighted to have won. We hadn’t competed in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte since the 2024 Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine. We prepared well with two rallies beforehand and extensive groundwork with Maxime. It all paid off, and it feels all the more special given that we crashed out whilst battling for the podium in this very event two years ago. This weekend, the difference was made up mainly of two stages : SS1, where we gained nearly five seconds on Paul, and SS8, where we gained a further 10 seconds in the fog. That’s where we built our lead, as everything else was decided by tenths of a second. Paul was attacking very hard, so it was important to manage to extend that gap. This victory is the perfect start to our season. We’ll need to be consistent, focused and keep driving intelligently, but our goal is clearly the official drive promised to the best Junior.”

Clio Trophy France Asphalte – Rallye Le Touquet Pas-de-Calais
1. Maxence Potard – Maxime Biegalke (J) 1h47m56.6s
2. Paul Dachicourt – Adèle Dachicourt (J) +15.3s
3. Romain Brun – Aurélia Chevalier (J) +3m54.0s
4. Louis Gass – Alison Girard (J) +4m05.1s
5. Thomas Santiago – Anne-Laurence Breton (J) +5m01.7s
6. Alex Florenson – Charline Dichamp (J) +6m01.5s
7. Romain Fostier – Ophélie Abchiche (G) +6m06.9s
8. Théo Jacquemet - Thibault Glasson-Blanchet (J) +6m07.7s
9. Jérôme Janny – Helena Pecheur +6m26.4s
10. Fabien Combe – Fabien Chèze +6m34.7s
11. Oliver Sørensen – Frederik Glad (J) +6m58.8s
12. Martin Massé – Jeffrey Bacle +7m23.5s
13. Tom Le Jossec – Christophe Leroy (J) +7m24.9s
14. Léo Véricel – Julien Loiseau (J) +7m40s
15. Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet +8m13.5s
16. Néo Rivallant – Melvin Fraigne (J) +8m43.6s
17. Alfred Sablonnière – Corentin Dégut (J) +10m24.3s
18. Guillaume Delobel – Benjamin Rock +13m16.5s
19. Amaury Pages – Mattis Chalvidan (J) +14m00.3s
20. Thomas Van Outrive – Lou Cardot (J) +14m18.9s
21. Charlotte Olea – Julie Vidal (J, F) +16m35.8s
22. Guillaume Hanique – Philippe Vandevelde +16m35.8s
23. Franck Giraud – Christophe Dubien (G) +17m37.3s
24. Clémentine Benoit – Éric De Bolle (J, F) +17m42.9s
25. Maxime Chagot – Bertrand Chagot +17m59.7s
26. Quentin Roger – Calie Danel (J) +20m29.6s
27. Timothé Cornu – Adam Thouez (J) +23m30.3s
Ret. Loan Guibal – Lohan Ranchard (J)
Ret. Louis Bottin – Titouan Andreux (J)
Ret. Justin Veyrard – Marley Gauthier (J)

Clio Trophy France Asphalte - Performer Jean Ragnotti classification - Renault Network Challenge