Thirty-eight crews to launch the season at Le Touquet

After crowning Anthony Fotia, Romain Di-Fante, Thomas Chauffray and Benjamin Stirling while speeding up the careers of several competitors, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte promises another breathtaking vintage with a service park combining quantity and quality from many of the leading structures in French rallying.

Runner-up to Benjamin Stirling last year, Benjamin Barnouin is one of the logical favourites. Still, the GMC Compétition driver from Vaucluse knows that one of his main rivals on the Pas-de-Calais special stages could be Arthur Pelamourgues. 2023 Power Stage Jean Ragnotti Trophy winner, he led the opening round 12 months ago before crashing out in the final kilometres. The Fun Meca Sport driver is more determined than ever to take his revenge and get his season off to a flying start.

Opposite them, Sébastien Loeb Racing will defend the crown won by Benjamin Stirling. Yoan Corberand, who finished second last year in Le Touquet, hopes to get his campaign off to a strong start, just like his team-mate Nicolas Hebrard, now teamed with Amandine Borderie, who has already enjoyed success in Clio Rally5 with Tom Pieri and Jean-Sébastien Vigion. Dominique Heintz and Jean-Philippe Nicolao's troops will also field promising juniors Maxime Krasnobaev, Amaury Facchinetti, and hill-climb transfer Maxime Dojat.

On an event renowned for its tricky roads and conditions, experience could work in favour of the more seasoned competitors. While Romain Fostier, Julien Deslauriers and Jérôme Janny will hope to come out on top, the list of front-runners is growing with Tom Vauclare, Enzo Beschet and Samuel Lay, all determined to make their mark on the season. Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Pietri, Martin Massé, Calvin Lucas, Lucas Zielinski, Maxence Potard, Paul Dachicourt and Quentin Roger – competing on home soil - will rely on their knowledge of the special stages, which will be brand new for Thomas Santiago, Rémy Narbon and Charlotte Olea.

Several newcomers to Clio Trophy France Asphalte will try to spring a surprise, such as Andrea Pelini after his victorious debut at the Rallye des Routes du Nord, or Robin Mercier, Julien Labonde, Néo Rivallant and Teddy Turco, all of whom have been impressive in the French Rally Cup. Corsican Marc Pompei is another driver to watch as he makes his debut outing on mainland France. At the same time, David Jeanne, Anthony Diel and Nicolas Vanderweerde are eager to distinguish themselves in their trophy debut.

The battle will be fierce to succeed Mike Souvigné in the Gentleman category. Franck Giraud, who came second in this class last year in Le Touquet, will target victory over Willy Mathey, Jean-Pierre Lejeune and Philippe Janvier, who returns to the event after a 20-year absence. The field is completed by Frédéric and Romain Misiek, father and son, both preparing to make their first start in Le Touquet.

An ideal springboard in the rally pyramid, the Clio Trophy Asphalte France will see title holder Benjamin Stirling launch his official programme with Clio Rally3 thanks to his Junior title won in 2023. The Alsatian will discover four-wheel drive competition with his car prepared by Sébastien Loeb Racing and decked out in the colours of Castrol, a major partner of Renault's customer racing activities. Three other Clio Rally3s, including one for Thomas Chauffray with technical support from Alpine Racing and Michelin Motorsport, will also be at the start, along with a Clio Rally4. Renault will again be the most represented brand in the FFSA French Rally Championship.

The Rallye Le Touquet Pas-de-Calais begins on Friday with a loop of four stages, all repeated in the late afternoon. On Saturday, the crews will tackle three timed sectors negotiated twice, including Hucqueliers - Inxent, the longest one on the route at 22.95 km and the scene of the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage with up to ten bonus points at stake. The 14 special stages will total 184.52 kilometres out of a total route of 553.56 km.

Entry list
#64 Benjamin Barnouin – Romain Garel (J)
#65 Yoan Corberand – Pauline Compozieux
#66 Arthur Pelamourgues – Bastien Pouget (J)
#67 Tom Vauclare – Frédéric Vauclare (J)
#68 Romain Fostier – Ophélie Abchiche
#69 Nicolas Hebrard – Amandine Borderie
#70 Julien Deslauriers – Amandine Brunel
#71 Enzo Beschet – Emmanuel Guinchard (J)
#72 Jean-Claude Pietri – Jean-François Muselli (J)
#73 Samuel Lay – Cédric Pirotte (J)
#74 Amaury Facchinetti – Léo Lhomme (J)
#75 Franck Giraud – Sylvain Guillaume (G)
#76 Jérôme Janny – Aurélien Beaudouin
#77 Martin Massé – Melvine Pitois (J)
#78 Andrea Pelini – Jean-Louis Hottelet (J)
#79 Robin Mercier – Tom Pinchon (J)
#80 Willy Mathey – Maëlle Casays (G)
#81 Calvin Lucas – Manon Perrin (J)
#82 Thomas Santiago – Guillaume François (J)
#83 Lucas Zielinski – Clémence Favy (J)
#84 Marc Pompei – Enzo Mahinc (J)
#85 Julien Labonde – Emma Bonnemort (J)
#86 Maxence Potard – Albin Goutry-André (J)
#87 Teddy Turco – Caroline Puel (J)
#88 David Jeanne – Stéphanie Rivallant
#89 Anthony Diel – Yannis Gosselin
#90 Nicolas Vanderweerde – Thiers Closter
#91 Paul Dachicourt – Adèle Dachicourt (J)
#92 Philippe Janvier – Benjamin Mondière (G)
#93 Maxime Krasnobaev – TBC (J)
#94 Néo Rivallant – Nicolas Blanc (J)
#95 Maxime Dojat – Maxime Passaquet (J)
#96 Charlotte Olea – Cécile Pages (J, F)
#97 Quentin Roger – Calie Danel (J)
#98 Rémy Narbon – Emeline Vo Dinh (J)
#99 Frédéric Misiek – Valérie Misiek (G)
#100 Romain Misiek – Thibaut Misiek (J)
#152 Jean-Pierre Lejeune – Geneviève Arnavielhe (G)