30 Clio Rally5 entered for Rallye Castine Terre d’Occitanie

The Clio Trophy France Terre is back in action this week with thirty crews at the start of the Rallye Castine Terre d'Occitanie. While Jean Paul Monnin heads to Bretenoux atop the general classification, he knows that his rivals will give him no quarter after pressuring him all the way to the finish in the Causses. Second in the inaugural round of the Clio Trophy France Terre last year, the Fun Meca Sport driver will nonetheless have the experience advantage against the wave of Juniors determined to dislodge him from the lead.

Florian Bouchonneau and Sam Taveneau were on the podium on their Clio Trophy France Terre debut and are targeting the top step this time. However, the former will be discovering the special stages while the latter hopes to score his first finish in his third participation on this event. After a solid debut in France, Faniry Rasoamaromaka will be another serious contender for the victory, just like his brother Mika Rasoamaromaka, determined to make up for a mistake that cost him dearly in the last kilometres of the Causses. Julien Pontal, who is currently fifth in the general classification, is also eager to assert himself at the sharp end of the order while Marcel Abad is determined to show the extent of his progress and the fruits of his labour behind the scenes with 2017 Junior WRC Champion Nil Solans.

François Fraymouth and Gaël Alquier finished in the top ten in the opening round and want to do better this weekend, although the fight will be fierce against rivals of the stature of Florian Condamines and John Laroche, who are both familiar with some sections of the route. The battle will be that much more indecisive as many drivers are eager to get their revenge, like Romain Di-Fante, who was the leader when he retired in the Causses, and Bastien Bergounhe, who has already scored a win in the trophy.

However, no contender should be overlooked. Maxime Lafon and Baptiste Panissié want to confirm their excellent early-season pace, whereas Mattéo Chatillon, Jean Lavigne and Thomas Mouysset target their first points. Their ambiions are actually shared by Benjamin Boulenc, Simon Heinemann, Loïc Mattei, Vincent Favre-Miville and Pierre-Yves Esparcieux.

Lilian Vialle will try to defend his lead in the Gentlemen category, but he will have to deal with Frédéric Perrard, but also Eric Royère and Claudie Tanghe, who are both determined to bounce back after they briefly took the lead in the Causses. 2011 Swiss Rally Champion Laurent Reuche is another contender with the clear intent of creating a surprise right from his return to the gravel.

Tom Vauclare and Justin Tamisieastl will make their debut, both entered in the Junior category. The former could be a serious contender if he manages to confirm his excellent pace with Clio Rally5 highlighted by his class win in the French Rally Cup Final last year while the latter will take over from his sister Inès, who competed at the Causses.

Meanwhile, Quentin Ribaud will compete in the second round of his official programme with Clio Rally4. The Clio Trophy France Terre title-holder will seek to accelerate the defence of his two-wheel drive crown after his RC4 podium finish on  Rallye Terre des Causses. Reigning FIA ERC3 and FIA ERC3 Junior Champion Jean-Baptiste Franceschi will also be at the start with Clio Rally4 to prepare for his future Junior WRC events.

The 22nd Castine Terre d'Occitanie Rally kicks off on Saturday morning with the traditional recce runs of the day's three stages, which will be then run in anger on two occasions. On Sunday, the drivers will tackle Miers and Reilhac, which were included on last year's itinerary, twice. The first passage through Miers will host the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage, with bonus points awarded to the fastest crews. The ten stages will total 137.40 kilometres of action.

Entry list

#45 Jean Paul Monnin – Sandra Chipaux
#46 Florian Bouchonneau – Jeanne Rey (J)
#47 Sam Taveneau – Pauline Boyer (J)
#48 Faniry Rasoamaromaka – Judi Rakatomalala (J)
#49 Julien Pontal – Loan Biagetti (J)
#50 François Fraymouth – Romain Felicelli
#51 Florian Condamines – Damien Jole
#52 Marcel Abad – Pere Requena (J)
#53 Gaël Alquier – Marion Alquier-Ceres
#54 John Laroche – Pierrick Dupas
#55 Mika Rasoamaromaka – Bastien Pouget (J)
#56 Romain Di-Fante – Patrick Chiappe (J)
#57 Maxime Lafon – Thomas Delmas (J)
#58 Baptiste Panissié – Gaël Lavernhe (J)
#59 Laurent Reuche – Jean Dériaz (G)
#60 Bastien Bergounhe – Mathieu Descharne (J)
#61 Mattéo Chatillon – Cédric Santini (J)
#62 Benjamin Boulenc – Chloé Barozzi-Gauze
#63 Simon Heinemann – Yves Heinemann
#64 Loïc Mattei – Laurent Magat
#65 Lilian Vialle – Manuel Ghirardello (G)
#66 Éric Royère – Gilbert Dini (G)
#67 Vincent Favre-Miville – Cédric Causse
#68 Jean Lavigne – Aurélie Vedrine (J)
#69 Pierre-Yves Esparcieux – Mathieu Guerin
#70 Claudie Tanghe – Jean-Christian d’Ennetières (G)
#71 Thomas Mouysset – Lucas Gineste (J)
#72 Frédéric Perrard – Francis Leclercq (G)
#73 Justin Tamisier – Laurent Tamisier (J)
#131 Tom Vauclare – Fréderic Vauclare (J)