The Clio Trophy France Asphalte and its impressive field of 46 Clio Rally5 crews were welcomed by mixed weather in Antibes. Before the hostilities kicked off, Yoan Corberand, Pascal Bérard, Christophe Gouville and Franck Giraud each won a tyre in a draw organised by Ceerta, the official Michelin Motorsport distributor in the French Rally Championship. This prize is in addition to the two-tyre starting bonus for all Clio Trophy France Asphalte competitors.
Winner in the opening round of the calendar at Le Touquet, Valentin Ascenzi set the pace on home soil on Friday before Patrick Magnou replied on SS2. The 3P Racing by GMC Compétition driver fought back in the rally’s longest stage, Puget-Théniers – Ascros – Toudon to retake the lead by 5.3s at midday. Benjamin Barnouin led the chase group, more than 25 seconds behind the leader in third place.
The duel for the lead was short-lived after Patrick Magnou got a puncture in the second pass of Levens – Duranus – Saint-Jean-la-Rivière. Valentin Ascenzi added SS5 to his credit to finish the first leg with a 40.4s lead over Benjamin Barnouin. With four top-three finishes in six stages, Benjamin Barnouin returned to the Cagnes-sur-Mer service park with a 15.3 seconds advantage over Arthur Pelamourgues, who went crescendo to overtake Benjamin Stirling and Romain Fostier in a trio covered by only five seconds.
The partly wet conditions complicated tyre choices on Saturday morning as Valentin Ascenzi increased his lead to 44.8s before retiring due to a technical problem on the iconic Col de Bleine and venue for the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage. Benjamin Barnouin inherited the lead ahead of Arthur Pelamourgues and Benjamin Stirling while Patrick Magnou scored the maximum ten bonus points by dominating SS8 with a 15.4 advantage to accelerate his comeback after his puncture the previous day.
However, everything was still to play for in the decisive loop as Benjamin Barnouin saw his lead over Arthur Pelamourgues reduced to 13.4s while Benjamin Stirling was still waiting in the wings. Despite the pressure, the leader started the afternoon perfectly with his first stage win in SS10, leaving his pursuers to fight for second place. Benjamin Barnouin kept a cool head to claim the win, 24.4s ahead of Benjamin Stirling, who overtook Arthur Pelamourgues in the final timed sector. The three Juniors finished ahead of Romain Fostier and Patrick Magnou, who moved up to fifth place at the expense of Corsican drivers Pierre-Paul Baltolu and Jean-Claude Pietri. Jordan D’Agostino, Yoan Corberand and Yannick Francisci completed the top ten. Pascal Bérard took top honours in the Gentleman category ahead of Franck Giraud and Frédéric Perrard, whilst Manon Massarotto dominated the Women’s category.
The top three are only eight points apart in the general classification. Benjamin Stirling’s second podium result of the season puts him in the lead ahead of Benjamin Barnouin and Yoan Corberand. Meanwhile, Patrick Magnou now leads the Jean Ragnotti Power Stage classification, while Sébastien Loeb Racing and Groupe Bertrand retain the lead in the Team and Renault Network Challenge classifications.
In addition to Clio Trophy France Asphalte, Tom Pieri led Clio Rally3 to victory in his category and finished in the overall top ten, with a sixth fastest time on SS5. Clio Rally4 was also successful, with Julien Brégeon winning the RC4 class and Allison Viano taking the top step of a podium monopolised by Renault in the French Women’s Rally Championship.
Clio Trophy France Asphalte now focuses on the Aveyron Rouergue Occitanie Rally (6-8 July), which will mark the season’s midway point. In the meantime, the Clio Trophy France Terre will head to the Rallye Terre d’Aléria (1-3 June).
