Pouget secures his first win of the year at Magny-Cours

Already leading the way in the rain and dry during Friday's practice sessions, David Pouget kept his momentum going, with the pole position for race one in an intense qualifying session, marked by three leader changes in the dying seconds of the session. The Frenchman started ahead of teammate Alexandre Finkelstein, Nicolas Milan and Alexandre Albouy (GPA Racing). Fifth-quickest Florian Coruble (GM Sport) was relegated four places due to a penalty incurred during his previous appearance at Nogaro. 

As the lights went out, David Pouget held on to the lead while Nicolas Milan overtook Alexandre Finkelstein, with Alexandre Albouy a close fourth place behind. However, the order soon changed when Nicolas Milan surprised David Pouget at the 180° corner to move into the lead. Meanwhile, Mickaël Carrée (T2CM) dropped back in the classification at the Adelaide hairpin before a contact with Florian Venturi (GM Sport). 

David Pouget launched his counter-offensive on Nicolas Milan on lap two. They took advantage of the duel for third place between Alexandre Finkelstein and Alexandre Albouy to pull away. David Pouget found the opening at the Nürburgring bend on lap five to reclaim the lead, but the battle for victory was far from over with further attacks from Nicolas Milan. The two leaders crossed swords again in Adelaide, but David Pouget kept his rival at bay. 

Despite a final attempt by Nicolas Milan, David Pouget scored his maiden victory of the season ahead of his countrymen. Challenger Alexandre Finkelstein completed the podium ahead of his teammate Alexandre Albouy. Aurélien Renet (JSB Compétition), who started from eighth place on the grid, finished fifth, followed by Florian Coruble. Initially seventh, Adrian Schimpf (AST Competition) was demoted to ninth behind Racer Jérémy Bordagaray and his twin brother Alejandro Schimpf (AST Competition) due to his ten-second penalty for moving before the lights went out. Nogaro Race 2 winner Mathieu Lannepoudenx (Milan Compétition) completed the top ten after passing Jordi Palomeras (Milan Compétition) on lap seven. 

With the win, David Pouget takes sole control of the Clio Cup Series with an eight-point lead over Nicolas Milan after the opening five races of 2023. Alexandre Albouy is now in third place and leads the chase group.

CLIO CUP ESPAÑA

In Clio Cup España, Jérémy Bordagaray won for the first time after the penalty incurred by the general classification leader, Adrian Schimpf, who eventually dropped to third behind Alejandro Schimpf. The French Racer also won his class ahead of Sergio Casalins (Motorismo Racing Team) and Alejandro Romero (Team VRT). Alejandro Schimpf inherited the victory in the Challengers Cup ahead of his brother and Mathieu Lannepoudenx to take the lead in the category.

CLIO CUP FRANCE

David Pouget also won his duel with Nicolas Milan in Clio Cup France. With this first victory of the season, ahead of Nicolas Milan and Alexandre Finkelstein, the leader of GPA Racing climbs to second place in the general classification, twenty-three points behind his rival. In third place, Alexandre Finkelstein extends his unbeaten record in the Challengers Cup with a third consecutive win over Aurélien Renet and Florian Coruble. Meanwhile, Jérémy Bordagaray won ahead of Fabien Julia (LR Performance) and Laurent Dziadus (Team Lucas) to take the lead among the Racers.

The competitors will return to the track tomorrow morning for the second qualifying session at 10:15 am, which will be streamed live on the Renault Clio Series Facebook page and YouTube channel. Race two of the weekend is scheduled to start at 5:40 pm and will also be streamed here and here.

Collective tests 1 - Collective tests 2 - Qualifying - Starting grid - Race - Clio Cup Series - Clio Cup España - Clio Cup France