A fixture on the calendar since the trophy’s launch in 2021, Rallye Terre des Cardabelles hosted the penultimate round of the season.. After the shakedown and scrutineering, Jean Lavigne, Christophe Truchet, Alexandre Brossy and Simon Baumet each won a Michelin LTX Force T XL92 tyre, in addition to their starting allocation, thanks to a draw organised by Ceerta, Michelin Motorsport’s official distributor in the French Rally Championship.

Three-time winner this season, Mika Rasoamaromaka started the event as he had all season long : by taking the lead from the outset. Anaël Cayla fought back in Le Camp, but the Madagascan responded in the Sainte-Eulalie special stage to extend his lead to 6.0s at midday. In the afternoon, Mika Rasoamaromaka extended his lead with the best time again in L’Hospitalet. The chase group changed in the next stage as Anaël Cayla lost thirty seconds while Florian Bouchonneau took his first stage win before doing it again to close the gap to just 5.6s from the leader.

On Sunday, the second leg began with a double twist. Mika Rasoamaromaka and Florian Bouchonneau both retired in the Sévérac d’Aveyron stage. The two title contenders left the door open for Anaël Cayla, who took the lead for the first time in a Clio Trophy France Terre round. Fourth in Causses, third in Aléria, and second in Lozère, the Fun meca Sport controlled the rest of the rally ideally to extend his lead from 7.8s to 18.6s.

Anaël Cayla claimed his first trophy success, ahead of Alexandre Gransagne, who returned to the podium after more than a year. Christophe Truchet, who finished third last year, equalled his best result. After punctures on Saturday morning, Alexandre Villiod and Thomas Eustaquio bounced back by winning one and two special stages respectively on Sunday to move back into the top five. Jérôme Ayrinhac finished sixth on his debut, closely followed by Johan Grès. Ludovic Casciani finished eighth ahead of Ludovic De Luca, now a three-time winner in the Gentlemen category.

Despite retiring, Mika Rasoamaromaka retains the lead in the Clio Trophy France Terre, but the Madagascan now has only a one-point advantage over teammate Anaël Cayla. He also retains first place in the Performer Jean Ragnotti classification, whilst Anaël Cayla’s success allows Fun Meca Sport to consolidate its lead in the team classification over AMD Motorsport by Gulf & Racelogic. Thanks to the performances of Christophe Truchet and Ludovic De Luca, Agence De Luca has clinched the Renault Network Challenge title. Christophe Truchet also increased his lead in the Clio Full Challenge, introduced this year to reward versatility on multiple surfaces.

In the French Gravel Rally Championship, Rallye Terre des Cardabelles saw Clio Rally3 win in RC3 and in the GT2i CFRT FFSA Trophy. Leading from the outset, Guillaume Tardy and Caroline Puel set the best time on eight of the ten special stages to secure a double 1-2-3 for the model and finish in the top ten overall. Steven Bossard – Jacques-Julien Renucci and Sylvain Tamisier – Mathieu Tamisier joined them on both podiums.

The weekend also served as a reminder of how demanding rallying can be, with several crews falling victim to mishaps along the course. The Clio Trophy France Terre organising team sends its sincerest thoughts and wishes for a speedy recovery to all the competitors affected, particularly Lény Cols and Pascal Lopes, and hopes to see them back stronger and more determined than ever very soon.

The Clio Trophy France Terre now prepares for its season finale at Rallye Terre de Vaucluse (7-9 November), a new event on the calendar with a points coefficient of 1.5. Mika Rasoamaromaka, Anaël Cayla, Florian Bouchonneau, Thomas Eustaquio, Alexandre Gransagne, Christophe Truchet and Alexandre Villiod will battle for the crown.

Anaël Cayla : "We tried to be careful and do our best. Many say this result was the logical outcome, but we weren’t particularly thinking about that. It’s not the victory we were hoping for, as many incidents allowed us to finish on the top step of the podium. The main goal was to have fun, and that’s what we did. We’re not thinking too much about the championship ; the goal is really to take each rally as it comes and see where we are in the end."

Clio Trophy France Terre – Rallye Terre des Cardabelles
1. Anaël Cayla – Rémi Nolorgues (J) 1h34m18.3s
2. Alexandre Gransagne – Loïc Maurel +18.6s
3. Christophe Truchet – Patrice Roissac +1m03.5s
4. Alexandre Villiod – Maëlle Casays (J) +1m24s
5. Thomas Eustaquio – Pauline Compozieux (J) +1m32.4s
6. Jérôme Ayrinhac – Laurent Ayrinhac +1m48.9s
7. Johan Grès – Thomas Taillandier +1m50.8s
8. Ludovic Casciani – Raphaël Angelou +2m17.7s
9. Ludovic De Luca – José Boyer (G) +3m49.7s
10. Joris Grès – Léa Milon (J) +4m11.9s
11. Thomas Mouysset – Margaux Jeudy (J) +6m37.5s
12. Alexandre Brossy – Didier Magne +7m16.3s
13. Simon Baumet – Anthony Orsini +9m14.9s
14. Romain Sagnes – Frédéric Vincent +14m06.1s
Ret. Anthony Rovina – Audrey Nesta (J)
Ret. Laurent Zambon – Maëva Perrinaud
Ret. Mika Rasoamaromaka – Mélissa Declerck (J)
Ret. Florian Bouchonneau – Jeanne Rey (J)
Ret. Jean Lavigne – Arnaud Cubizolles (J)
Ret. Lény Cols – Pascal Lopes (J)
Ret. Charles Charrier – Maxime Machabert (J)
Ret. Gaël Bertrand – Fabien Adenot
Ret. Loïc Sanchez – Grégory Marie
Ret. Nicolas Hebrard – Fabrice Pinquier

Clio Trophy France Terre - Performer Jean Ragnotti classification - Teams standings - Renault Network Challenge - Clio Full Challenge