For the fifth time in six seasons, Millau hosted the Clio Trophy France Terre season finale. Of the 13 crews competing, Alexandre Brossy, Julien Malta and Loïc Sanchez remained in contention for the title, while several others returned to the service park for the final round.

Gaël Alquier made an immediate impact on Saturday by setting the fastest time at L’Hospitalet, just two tenths of a second ahead of Julien Ingrassia. Third on SS1, Johan Grès then took the lead with a superb run through Le Camp, the rally’s longest special stage, before consolidating his advantage in Sainte-Eulalie. In the battle for the crown, Julien Malta initially seized the upper hand, but Alexandre Brossy fought back in the next two timed sectors.

The second loop shook things up. Grégory Scotto la Chianca set the fastest time in L’Hospitalet, before inheriting the lead when Johan Grès retired in Le Camp, where Gaël Alquier reduced his deficit on the new leader. Grégory Scotto la Chianca struck back immediately, maintaining a 4.6s lead. Meanwhile, Alexandre Brossy moved up to third place whilst continuing to score more Jean Ragnotti Performer points than his title rivals.

On Sunday, the battle for victory was back on. Grégory Scotto la Chianca was quickest on the Pierre Blanche–Altès stage, but Gaël Alquier snatched the lead in Sévérac d’Aveyron. Back at the front of the order, the local driver kept pushing, increasing his lead to 8.8s before holding off his rival’s counter-attack in the final kilometres.

Four years after their last appearance, Gaël and Marion Alquier made a triumphant return to the Clio Trophy France Terre. The Saillat Loc crew won on home turf with a 3.6s lead over Grégory Scotto la Chianca and Pauline Compozieux. Having secured their first stage win in SS9, Julien Ingrassia and Emma Bonnemort ultimately completed the podium, just 1.4s ahead of Alexandre Brossy and Sébastien Enjalbert. Second in Rallye Castine Terre d’Occitanie, then winners in Rallye Terre des Causses, Brossy joins Quentin Ribaud, Florian Bouchonneau, Jean-Sébastien Vigion, Benjamin Boulenc and Mika Rasoamaromaka on the champions’ list.

Julien Malta and Jorian Ponomareff rounded off the top five ahead of Romain Sagnes and Frédéric Vincent. In their first outing together in Clio Rally5, Enzo and Barbara Truchet finished seventh, followed by the crews of Gaël Bertrand and Fabien Adenot, Loïc Sanchez and Hervé Lapeyre, and Boris Moulaire and Maëlle Casays. Back in the running after their earlier retirement, Johan Grès and Cécile Pagès added two stage wins to their tally on Sunday. They finished ahead of Lucas and Sandrine Aymard, whilst Damien Buisson and Axel Daclin went off on the penultimate special stage.

Alongside the Clio Trophy France Terre, Clio Rally3 secured a one-two in its class, with Dominique Bruyneel and Kenny Deroo finishing ahead of Sylvain and Mathieu Tamisier. 2023 Clio Trophy France Terre best Junior and a former official Clio Rally3 driver in the FIA World Rally Championship, Mattéo Chatillon also turned heads, claiming his maiden overall victory in the French Gravel Rally Championship.

Gaël Alquier : “It’s always a pleasure to drive on gravel with Clio Rally5. We had a brilliant time this weekend, and our pace kept improving. That set us up well for the French Rally Cup finale next week in the Vosges. It gets quite slippery over there when it’s damp, so we’ve gained a lot of confidence. On the final special stage, we stayed careful and avoided needless risks. We managed the situation, lost a bit of time, and still secured the win.”

Alexandre Brossy : “We approached this rally like any other, aiming to enjoy ourselves. As the special stages went on, we could see we were keeping up the pace, even though the leaders pushed hard. We gradually took away Jean Ragnotti Performer points from Julien Malta. Towards the end, we managed our pace whilst trying to secure a podium finish. We were third, but Julien Ingrassia overtook us by less than two seconds on the final special stage. It’s a shame, but the stage surface was poor, so we eased off where we knew there were stones. Still, we had a brilliant time !”

Julien Ingrassia : “A podium is a podium ! I’m delighted for Renault and the Clio Trophy France Terre to see this series is something people enjoy, full of life, and with a fantastic spirit. We had a proper rally, with its fair share of twists and turns, intercoms cutting out, impressive ruts, rain, and competitors battling for the title. It set the benchmark for stage times. Emma and I gradually built up our pace without any scary moment, which was very positive. A big thank you to David Auto Compétition and Olivier David, who has retained the right instincts from the WRC : he’s as relentless and meticulous as ever in ensuring the car didn’t encounter a single problem. Thanks to the whole team and Emma !”

Clio Trophy France Terre – Rallye Terre des Cardabelles
1. Gaël Alquier – Marion Alquier 1h46m58.2s
2. Grégory Scotto La Chianca – Pauline Compozieux +3.6s
3. Julien Ingrassia – Emma Bonnemort +1m15.3s
4. Alexandre Brossy – Sébastien Enjalbert +1m16.7s
5. Julien Malta – Jorian Ponomareff +3m16.9s
6. Romain Sagnes – Frédéric Vincent +3m38.3x
7. Enzo Truchet – Barbara Truchet +4m03.5s
8. Gaël Bertrand – Fabien Adenot +5m20.3s
9. Loïc Sanchez – Hervé Lapeyre +5m25.1s
10. Boris Moulaire – Maëlle Casays +11m53.9s
11. Johan Grès – Cécile Pagès +19m31s
12. Lucas Aymard – Sandrine Aymard +32m16.8s
Ret. Damien Buisson – Axel Daclin