press releases
press releases

The Clio Trophy France Asphalte reaches its mid-season point

After the first two exceptionally intense rounds, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte heads to Rodez for Rallye Aveyron Rouergue Occitanie. The third stop on the calendar could already be a decisive weekend in the race for the title, with 44 crews competing in a battle of tenths of a second before a well-deserved summer break.

06 July 2022

With its ever-growing Clio Trophy France Asphalte service park, Renault will be the most represented brand on Rallye Aveyron Rouergue Occitanie with almost half of the competitors entering with its models, including more than 40 Clio Rally5s.

Thomas Chauffray will aim for his third consecutive win this season on an event he knows well. The trophy leader finished runner-up last year and could make a first step towards the crown if he completes his goal, but he will have to be wary of his closest challenger, Tom Pieri. Defeated by 6.9 seconds at Le Touquet, then by 1.2 seconds at Antibes, the Junior is keen to gain the upper hand to claim a maiden victory that could allow him to unseat his rival from the Clio Trophy France Asphalte lead.

Although the two men have a small lead, their rivals do not intend to make their task any easier. Already on the podium this year, Styve Juif and Benjamin Stirling want to win to make up ground after having burnt their jokers, whilst Jérémy Sarhy, Yoan Corberand and Patrick Magnou will do their utmost to spray the champagne. Fifth and sixth on their debut at Antibes, Yannick Francisci and Benjamin Barnouin will also try to confirm their promises with Clio Rally5 on this event, which is new to them. Like Pierre-Paul Baltolu, they will have to battle against more experienced competitors in the Aveyron, such as Louis Myr, Sébastien Rambaud, Guillaume Bonnet and Yann Clairay.

On these atypical roads, Arthur Pelamourgues, Louis Constant and Valentin Ascenzi will be ones to watch as they have shown their speed despite a certain lack of luck until now. Newcomers to Rodez, Calvin Lucas, Enzo Lucotte, Ugo Girardeau and Arthur Roché will also try to excel, as will Mathieu Bonche, Matthieu Suzzarini, Jérôme Janny and Maxence Passaquet. Meanwhile, Nicolas Hebrard, Franck Giraud, Théo Apchie, Maxime Lafon and Julien Anthérieu will rely on their experience of the route, like Sylvain Janny, who first participated in the Aveyron-based rally in 2003!

In the Gentlemen category, Éric Royère will chase after a third consecutive success against Jean-Pierre Lejeune and Dominique Patenotte, who has vast experience in the event and newcomer Gérard Puel. Meanwhile, Christophe Fontaine makes his comeback in a service park that will welcome the debuts of Franck Barry, Thomas Gaume and Mike Souvigné, who finished third in the Luxembourg Rally Championship last year.

The intensity will also rise in the Women's category. With Marina Breuil skipping this round, Margot Dupuy and Élodie Gines will resume their duel that turned to the advantage of the former at Antibes. Beyond their ambitions in the general classification, the two women will face a new rival, Charlotte Olea, third in the French Women's Rally Championship in Rouergue twelve months ago behind the wheel of a Clio Ragnotti.

Enzo Beschet, who has experience in Clio Trophy Swiss, and Joël do Rego, who contested the Critérium des Cévennes last year, will also be present on Thursday for the traditional technical scrutineering. On Friday, the crews will tackle two identical loops of three stages separated by a service break before three other timed sectors, run twice the following day. At midday on Saturday, the emblematic Luc - Moyrazès stage run will host the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage, with bonus points at stake for the top ten. The 12 timed sectors will total 205.98 km from a route of 675.81 km.

In addition to the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, four Clio Rally4s will be in action, including that of title holder Romain Di-Fante. The French two-wheel-drive Rally Championship leader will try to extend his advantage while Pauline Dalmasso will target first place in the French Women's Rally Championship. Julien Brégeon and Loïc Sauvage will also aim for victory in the Michelin Trophy in their Clio Rally4s. 

Entry list

#41 Thomas Chauffray – Pauline Chauffray
#42 Tom Pieri – Amandine Borderie (J)
#43 Patrick Magnou – Anthony Vilanova
#44 Styve Juif – Maxime Biegalke (J)
#45 Jérémy Sarhy – Loïck Declerck (J)
#46 Yoan Corberand – Emeline Faivre
#47 Benjamin Stirling – Florence Wehrey (J)
#48 Louis Myr – Camille Flajolet (J)
#49 Yannick Francisci – Loïc Boudaud (J)
#50 Sébastien Rambaud – Alexis Maillefert (J)
#51 Pierre Paul Baltolu – Gilles Cler (J)
#52 Arthur Pelamourgues – Bastien Pouget (J)
#53 Guillaume Bonnet – Cédric Santini (J)
#54 Benjamin Barnouin – Enzo Mahinc (J)
#55 Louis Constant – Mathieu Coppa (J)
#56 Valentin Ascenzi – Corentin Silvestre (J)
#57 Éric Royère – Gilbert Dini (G)
#58 Yann Clairay – Mathieu Favreau
#59 Nicolas Hebrard – Bastien Dumas
#60 Calvin Lucas – Amandine Houry (J)
#61 Élodie Gines – Lisa Tornior (F)
#62 Arthur Roché – Quentin Proust (J)
#63 Maxence Passaquet – Michel Damian (J)
#64 Maxime Lafon – Thomas Delmas (J)
#65 Enzo Lucotte – Manon Deliot (J)
#66 Margot Dupuy – Clio Chambelland (F)
#67 Ugo Girardeau – Julien Bichon
#68 Franck Giraud – Sylvain Guillaume
#69 Mathieu Bonche – Florian Chardon (J)
#70 Sylvain Janny – Mireille Guy
#71 Matthieu Suzzarini – Sony Postel
#72 Jérôme Janny – Clément Gutierrez
#73 Théo Apchie – Aurélie Vedrine (J)
#74 Julien Anthérieu – Eddy Jabeneau
#75 Mike Souvigné – Ann Felke (G)
#76 Enzo Beschet – Pierrot Rousselet (J)
#77 Jean-Pierre Lejeune – Geneviève Arnavielhe (G)
#78 Thomas Gaume – Daniel Mahier (G)
#79 Christophe Fontaine – Bastien Fontaine (G)
#80 Franck Barry – Lionel Chatufaud (G)
#81 Joël do Rego – Justin Ladet
#82 Dominique Patenotte – Killian Girou (G)
#83 Gérard Puel – Caroline Puel (G)
#84 Charlotte Olea – Cécile Pages (J, F)

Document

The Clio Trophy France Asphalte reaches its mid-season point

go to document go to media library

Guillaume Renard

Press officer Renault Customer Racing

guillaume@zonerouge.fr

After a successful launch, Clio Rally5 is now taking on all surfaces with the Clio Trophy France Asphalte and the Clio Trophy France Terre. With two calendars intentionally independent and complementary to maximise the opportunities for all, each trophy consists of five rounds of the FFSA French Taramc or Gravel Rally Championship. Junior, Gentlemen, Female and Teams categories allow all the contenders to be valorised while enjoying unrivalled technical support and a unique level of equity at this level of the pyramid. A real springboard for the most promising hopefuls, the best Juniors on each surface at the end of the year will be offered an official programme with Clio Rally4.

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.

Document

The Clio Trophy France Asphalte reaches its mid-season point
The Clio Trophy France Asphalte reaches its mid-season point

After a successful launch, Clio Rally5 is now taking on all surfaces with the Clio Trophy France Asphalte and the Clio Trophy France Terre. With two calendars intentionally independent and complementary to maximise the opportunities for all, each trophy consists of five rounds of the FFSA French Taramc or Gravel Rally Championship. Junior, Gentlemen, Female and Teams categories allow all the contenders to be valorised while enjoying unrivalled technical support and a unique level of equity at this level of the pyramid. A real springboard for the most promising hopefuls, the best Juniors on each surface at the end of the year will be offered an official programme with Clio Rally4.

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.