The Clio Cup Series returned to France last week to wrap up the first half of the season with a 40-car field. Gabriele Torelli was the first to make his mark, dominating both free practice sessions on Friday in Burgundy.

Race 1 : Torelli and Renet avoid the pitfalls

Gabriele Torelli maintained his momentum on Saturday, securing the pole position ahead of Anthony Jurado, who received a four-place grid drop following a race incident at Misano. Aurélien Renet was promoted to the front row, followed by Mauro Polderman (AST Competition), Nicky Taylor (GPA Racing) and Damiano Puccetti (Rangoni Corse) at the end of a session in which the top 18 were covered by less than a second.

Under cloudy skies, Aurélien Renet got off to the best start, but Gabriele Torelli fought back at the Adelaide hairpin under the watchful eye of Damiano Puccetti. Behind the leading trio, Anthony Jurado initially moved up to fourth place before slipping down the order. After Ben Colburn (Westbourne Motorsport) went off, also causing Jaroslav Honzík (GM Sport) to retire, the race was neutralised. After the stewards intervened, the race resumed briefly before a second safety car period after Romain Lavocat (GM Sport) collided with Thomas Compain (Power Racing).

Gabriele Torelli controlled the restart to take the win ahead of Challenger Aurélien Renet. Third-place finisher Anthony Jurado was penalised for a collision with Nicky Taylor. Fourth at the chequered flag, Gaël Castelli (Milan Compétition) was also sanctioned for exceeding track limits. Junior driver Damiano Puccetti inherited third place, ahead of Alexandre Finkelstein, David Pouget (GPA Racing) and Sam Gornall (Westbourne Motorsport) while Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition), Nikola Tošić (Rangoni Corse), Mauro Polderman and Harry McGovern (AST Competition) rounded out the top ten

Race 2 : Jurado takes over for Rangoni Corse

Anthony Jurado ended teammate Gabriele Torelli’s streak on Sunday, dominating qualifying, which was marked by the incident of Nicolas Milan Arias (Milan Compétition). The Frenchman finished ahead of Gaël Castelli, Nicky Taylor, David Pouget and Daire Flock (Westbourne Motorsport), who delivered his best qualifying performance to date.

Gaël Castelli and David Pouget moved up alongside Anthony Jurado at the start. Still, the pole-sitter held on before the red flag stoppage caused by a spectacular crash involving Nikola Tošić, Vladimir Lobachev (AST Competition) and Stephan Polderman (AST Competition). The race resumed after two laps behind the safety car. Anthony Jurado controlled Gaël Castelli’s attacks while Gabriele Torelli surprised David Pouget in front of Alexandre Finkelstein.

On lap six, Anthony Jurado’s pursuers tried to capitalise on a mistake by the leader. However, this battle allowed him to pull away, as the duel between Gaël Castelli and Gabriele Torelli turned to David Pouget’s advantage. Alexandre Finkelstein also slotted in between the two men, but the order continued to change with each lap. Also involved in a thrilling battle, Damiano Puccetti, Sam Gornall, Nicky Taylor and Daire Flock traded attacks just behind.

The trio of Anthony Jurado, David Pouget and Gaël Castelli eventually pulled away from the chase group. David Pouget launched an attack on the penultimate lap, but Anthony Jurado’s defence allowed Gaël Castelli to slip between them to take second place. Despite pressure from his countrymen, Anthony Jurado prevailed ahead of Gaël Castelli and David Pouget. Gabriele Torelli finished just off the podium ahead of Alexandre Finkelstein, who overtook Juniors Sam Gornall, Nicky Taylor and Damiano Puccetti on the final lap. Ninth place went to Mickaël Carrée (T2CM), who once again the top Gentleman and even surprised Challenger Aurélien Renet in the final metres.

Clio Cup Series

With five wins in the last six races, the Rangoni Corse team moves to within just one point of GPA Racing. Although David Pouget retains the overall lead, his advantage over Gabriele Torelli is now just 71 points. Meanwhile, Mauro Polderman remains top of the Junior classification despite Damiano Puccetti’s double win. Challenger Ben Colburn finds himself in a similar situation after Filip Kunčer (Milan Compétition) finished on both podiums and the wins for Guillaume Maio (GM Sport) and Loïc Labeda (GM Sport), who came from the back of the grid on Saturday. Lastly, Laurent Dziadus (Team Lucas) remains in the lead in the Gentlemen class despite Mickaël Carrée’s clean sweep.

Clio Cup France

In Clio Cup France, Aurélien Renet and Anthony Jurado shared the victories, each time beating series leader David Pouget. Both drivers made significant gains, reducing their respective deficits of 157 and 87 points to 73 and 30 points, with the two worst results to be dropped before the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard (3-5 October). Still in the running for the crown, Laurent Dziadus now has only a five-point lead in the Gentlemen category after Mickaël Carrée’s double victory. Lastly, Ronan Deslandes (T2CM) became the first champion this season, clinching the Junior title.

Clio Cup Mid-Europe

After dominating the season opener at Spa-Francorchamps, Alexandre Finkelstein extended his lead in Clio Cup Mid-Europe with his win on Sunday. The Frenchman now has a 45-point advantage over Sam Gornall, who is the new leader in the Junior category, thanks to his double win in this class. In the Challenger class, Filip Kunčer retains first place despite Aurélien Renet’s double win in his category, who also won overall on Saturday.

The Clio Cup Series now enters its summer break, which will last until the season resumes at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia (19-21 September). Clio Cup España and Clio Cup Mid-Europe will also be on the programme in Spain.

Results - Clio Cup Series - Clio Cup France - Clio Cup Mid-Europe