Under clear skies, David Pouget outpaced Nicolas Milan again to claim his second pole position of the weekend. Challenger Joran Leneutre achieved the best qualifying result of his Clio Cup career, slotting in third ahead of Marc Guillot and Léo Jousset (Milan Compétition).

The skies began to darken as the start drew near. David Pouget initially resisted Nicolas Milan’s attacks before giving in at the Adelaide hairpin. At the same time, Joran Leneutre dropped to seventh place, whilst Marc Guillot took advantage of this to move up to third, then overtook David Pouget on a first lap that finished behind the safety car after the collision between Léo Jousset and Jerzy Spinkiewicz (Uniq Racing).

Nicolas Milan controlled the field at the restart, but the chase group formed by Marc Guillot, David Pouget and Alexandre Albouy (GPA Racing) stayed in contact. Meanwhile, Joran Leneutre made a series of overtaking moves to get back into the top five before catching Alexandre Albouy and exploiting a mistake by Marc Guillot to take third place as it began to rain.

David Pouget and Joran Leneutre kept the leader under pressure in increasingly slippery conditions. Their battle, however, offered a breather to Nicolas Milan. David Pouget nevertheless went on the offensive again and found an opening two laps later.

As the rain intensified in the waning minutes of the race, David Pouget sealed his second win of the weekend ahead of Challenger Joran Leneutre, who completed his spectacular comeback when he passed Nicolas Milan in the last corners of the race. Fourth, Marc Guillot was closely followed by Alexandre Albouy and Nico Abella (Chefo Sport) while Alex Lahoz (Cotauto Motorsport) won the intense battle for seventh place against Aurélien Renet (JSB Compétition) and Léo Jousset. Jordi Palomeras (Team VRT) completed the top ten while Lionel Viguier won the Gentlemen Drivers Cup. The Frenchman took the lead at the start, but Mathieu Rigoulet (Vic’Team) reclaimed his spot on lap nine before making a mistake at the beginning of the last lap.

The classifications of the race are suspended pending the results of the technical scrutineering.

CLIO CUP FRANCE

Overall winner David Pouget also scored the double in Clio Cup France, finishing ahead of Joran Leneutre and Nicolas Milan. The GPA Racing driver increased his lead over Nicolas Milan to 28 points, while Joran Leneutre moved to third place in the general classification. Victorious in the Challengers Cup against Alexandre Albouy and Aurélien Renet, Joran Leneutre now trails Alexandre Albouy by just two points in this class. Lastly, Lionel Viguier took advantage of Mathieu Rigoulet’s mistake in the last lap to snatch victory from him. After the race, Mathieu Rigoulet was given a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage off-track. Pierre Monmaneix (GPA Racing) and Cédric Delcroix (GPA Racing) were promoted one place and completed the podium. Despite the incident, Mathieu Rigoulet still has a 33-point lead over Jérémy Bordagaray (Team Borda Rallye) and Lionel Viguier.

CLIO CUP SPAIN

Already victorious on Saturday in Clio Cup Spain, Nico Abella put in a repeat run on Sunday. The Spaniard passed Alex Royo (Team VRT) for the lead on lap three. He went on for the win ahead of Alex Lahoz and Jordi Palomeras, who battled throughout the race. It was the same order in the Challengers Cup. Alex Royo finished fourth and still leads the general classification, but 14 points are all that separates the top four. Meanwhile, Alex Lahoz now leads Jordi Palomeras by one point and Nico Abella by four in the Challengers Cup. Thanks to his fourth consecutive win over Joaquin Rodrigo (Vearsa Sport), Fabien Julia (LR Performance) now leads the Gentlemen Drivers Cup.

CLIO CUP EASTERN EUROPE

In Clio Cup Eastern Europe, Saturday race-winner Marc Guillot took a comfortable win on Sunday ahead of Tomas Pekar (Carpek Service) and Andreas Stucki (Stucki Motorsport) to increase his lead in the general classification. Lin Chen Han (Uniq Racing) took advantage of Juuso Panttila’s (Carpek Service) incident on lap five to claim his first Clio Cup victory in the Challengers Cup, ahead of Henrik Seibel (Carpek Service) and the Finn, and he now has the point-lead in the category. Lastly, René Steenmetz took his revenge on Stephan Polderman, and the two Dutch drivers of Chefo Sport leave this inaugural weekend tied for the lead in the Gentlemen Drivers Cup.

Qualifying 2 - Starting grid - Race 2 - Clio Cup France - Clio Cup Spain - Clio Cup Eastern Europe

The next meeting on the calendar will be at Misano, where Clio Cup Italia will be in action from June 3 to 5. This meeting will launch a triple-header as it will be followed immediately by Valencia (10-12 June) for Clio Cup Spain and Zandvoort (17-19 June) for Clio Cup Europe, Clio Cup France and Clio Cup Eastern Europe.

ABOUT THE CLIO CUP EUROPE

Since the launch of the R8 Gordini Cup in 1966, Renault has maintained a continuous presence on circuits around the world. Several thousand Clio Cups have been sold since 1991, and all five generations have been recognised for their performance, reliability and affordability. With its experience in promotional formulas and one-make series, Renault provides its savoir-faire and expertise to professionals and amateurs by offering a modern product adapted to their needs. In 2022, the Clio Cup will be in action in the Clio Cup Europe but also in Clio Cup France, Clio Cup Spain, Clio Cup Italia and Clio Cup Eastern Europe, thanks to an innovative calendar opening up numerous opportunities for competitors from all backgrounds : experienced drivers, Challengers and Gentlemen Drivers !

ABOUT RENAULT

Renault, a historic mobility brand and pioneer of electric vehicles in Europe, has always developed innovative vehicles. With the ‘Renaulution’ strategic plan, Renault has embarked on an ambitious, value-generating transformation moving towards a more competitive, balanced and electrified range. Its ambition is to embody modernity and innovation in technology, energy and mobility services in the automotive industry and beyond.