Cyprus Rally Championship

The holiday season got off to a perfect start with a new national title for Clio Rally3. Petros Panteli and Antonis Chrysostomou took the lead in the CMF Rally of Cyprus in SS5 before securing their third victory in five events. The 2023 MERC3 champion then added another feather to his cap with his second Cyprus Rally Champion title.

Austrian Rally Championship

The winning streak continued into the new year. Martin Roßgatterer and Andreas Thauerböck navigated the treacherous tarmac and snow-covered stages of the Jännerrallye to finish seventh overall and win in RC3. This success saw the crew win the opening round of the Austrian Rally Cup, where they were joined on the podium by Günther Knobloch and Erik Fürst, also in a Clio Rally3.

French Rally Cup

Clio Rally3 also made a successful 2026 debut in France. Winners of last year’s Ronde du Jura, Ludovic Godard and Matthieu Bôle-Richard made it two on the bounce with four stage wins in six special stages. Sylvain Cachod - Aurélien Pourcelot and Thomas Benier - Gaëlle Piat completed the model’s treble in Rally3, finishing in the top five overall. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Monnin and Franck Gilliot drove their Clio Rally5 to an impressive eighth place, winning their class. Clio Rally4 also made it onto its class podium with Jérôme Bonnefoy and Cédric Gerber.

And elsewhere…

Other successes came before the winter break. In Italy, the crews of Gianandrea Pisani and Nicola Biagi (Clio Rally3) and Lorenzo Ticciati and Federico Buglisi (Clio Rally5) won at Rally Il Ciocchetto, as did Rosario and Alice Siragusano (Clio Rally5) at Rally Conca d’Oro - Città di Corleone.

Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, Clio Rally3 took the top three places at the Súpercopa de Campeones. Yoday and Daniela Betancort finished third overall and won in their category at the Maspalomas Circuit (Spain). Lastly, Tuomas Skantz and Juha Lummaa rounded off a successful winter for Clio Rally3, finishing second overall in the Lapwall Piippola Ralli (Finland).

📸 Harald Illmer