Already boasting a record field for a season-opener, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte confirms its unrivalled appeal with 50 Clio Rally5s set to gather next week in the Laissac service park.

Winner of the first round at the Rallye Rhône-Charbonnières, Yoan Corberand is targeting a second consecutive victory to extend his lead in the trophy. Third in 2023, the David Auto Compétition driver will capitalise on his experience of the Aveyron stages to shine, but he will not be the only contender for victory. Beaten by 1.5s and 2.4s at Charbonnières-les-Bains, Julien Deslauriers-Sablonnière and Valentin Ascenzi are thirsty for revenge. The former will be all the more formidable, given that he won last year at Rodez, while the latter is leading the Jean Ragnotti Performer and Juniors classifications, where an official programme is up for grabs.

Just off the podium in the Rhône, Jean-Claude Pietri, Tom Vauclare, and Paul Dachicourt will look to spray the champagne and get back into the title race. In the top ten at the end of April, Florent Fagnone, Enzo Beschet and Yohan Codaccioni will try to step up their game, as will Anthony Diel, Alex Florenson, Marc Pompei and Yohan Roumieux. After various setbacks at the ‘Charbo’, Romain Fostier, Lucas Zielinski, Amaury Facchinetti, Julien Sabatier and Léo Véricel want to bounce back and rejoin the sharp end of the order as quickly as possible.

Several competitors hope to create a surprise. These include Nicolas Paviet-Roche, Sylvain Lenne, Jérôme Janny, Johan Grès, Ludovic Lamarche, Emilien Sanlaville and Arnaud Boulangé. Meanwhile, Loïc Scandola is one of many Juniors to watch, along with Louis Gass, Julien Arnaud, Hugo Ramillon, David Panteix and Maxence Girard. Both Juniors, Charlotte Olea and Emma Chalvin, will also continue their duel in the Women’s category, where the former won the first round before competing on home turf next weekend.

After launching his title defence in the Gentlemen’s category with a victory, Pascal Bérard will try to double up on roads where he dominated the class last year. Franck Giraud, Jacques Bourrat and Raphaël Monnier are likely to be his most formidable adversaries, but he should not underestimate Laurent Lambert and Pascal Donnadieu. After a one-off in the Clio Trophy France Terre in 2023, Mickaël Caumes will complete the Gentlemen line-up in a rally where he has made two previous starts.

Ten new competitors will make their first appearance of the season. Among them, Melvin Rabilloud, Batiste Moisset, Ludovic Boudou and Benjamin Herail return to the Clio Trophy France Asphalte, where Damien Vincent, Valentin Chazette, Julien Pintus and Benoit Martin will debut. Lastly, Laurent Zambon and Alexandre Brossy will try their luck on tarmac after their previous commitments in the Clio Trophy France Terre. They could score big points in the Clio Full Challenge, in which the six best results, including at least two on each surface, will reward the most versatile drivers by year’s end !

For the first time in the French Rally Championship, all Renault Clio rally versions will be at the start, with three Clio Rally3s, two Clio Rally4s and one Clio Rally6 in the service park. The latter will be driven by Arthur Pelamourgues, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte title holder, who is competing privately in his home rally between two rounds in his official world championship programme.

With a third of the 51st Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie field assembled, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte competitors will convene on Thursday for technical and administrative checks. On Friday, the crews will tackle two identical loops of three timed sectors, interspersed with a passage through Espalion–Lassouts. On Saturday, they will take on three more timed sectors, including Luc-la-Primaube – Moyrazès, before the final super special stage in Rodez. Each of the last ten special stages of this 193.584-kilometre timed route will award up to five ‘Jean Ragnotti Performer’ points to the five fastest drivers, in addition to the points awarded at the finish.

Entry list
#27 Yoan Corberand – Pauline Compozieux
#28 Valentin Ascenzi – Melvine Pitois (J)
#29 Julien Deslauriers-Sablonnière – Amandine Brunel
#30 Jean-Claude Pietri – Jean-François Muselli (J)
#31 Tom Vauclare – Frédéric Vauclare (J)
#32 Anthony Diel – Yannis Gosselin
#33 Paul Dachicourt – Adèle Dachicourt (J)
#34 Lucas Zielinski – Ewen Leenhardt (J)
#35 Florent Fagnone – Benjamin Fagnone
#36 Enzo Beschet – Emmanuel Guinchard (J)
#37 Marc Pompei – Matthieu Belhacene (J)
#38 Amaury Facchinetti – Emma Bonnemort (J)
#39 Romain Fostier – Ophélie Abchiche
#40 Yohan Codaccioni – Hugo Olivier (J)
#41 Alex Florenson – Charline Dichamp (J)
#42 Melvin Rabilloud – Enzo Mahinc (J)
#43 Yohan Roumieux – Bastien Fontaine
#44 Léo Vericel – Enzo Forissier (J)
#45 Nicolas Paviet-Roche – Tony Ponsot
#46 Pascal Bérard – Caroline Bérard (G)
#47 Loïc Scandola – Sonny Postel (J)
#48 Sylvain Lenne – Yoann Bouchet
#49 Jérôme Janny – Helena Pecheur
#50 Charlotte Olea – Cécile Pages (J, F)
#51 Batiste Moisset – Rémi Mejane (J)
#52 Johan Grès – Thomas Taillandier
#53 Julien Sabatier – Brandon Masson (J)
#54 Louis Gass – Alison Girard (J)
#55 Jacques Bourrat – Jean Bourrat (G)
#56 Raphaël Monnier – Jean-François Hugon (G)
#57 Franck Giraud – Christophe Dubien (G)
#58 Pascal Donnadieu – Laurent Delmas (G)
#59 Laurent Lambert – Yannick Le Moing (G)
#60 Laurent Zambon – Maeva Perrinaud
#61 Ludovic Lamarche – Bastien Verjat
#62 Julien Arnaud – Marion Renchet (J)
#63 Emilien Sanlaville – Amaury Sanlaville
#64 Ludovic Boudou – Aymeric Camarans
#65 Emma Chalvin – Charline Quartini (J, F)
#66 Arnaud Boulangé – Lilou Boulangé
#67 Mickaël Caumes – Romain Sagnes (G)
#68 Alexandre Brossy – Justin Ladet
#69 Damien Vincent – Frédéric Vincent (J)
#70 Benjamin Herail – Quentin Monteillet
#71 Hugo Ramillon – Baptiste Gauthier (J)
#72 David Panteix – Morgan Lefebvre (J)
#73 Maxence Girard – Maxime Cotte-Colisson (J)
#74 Valentin Chazette – Francis Chazette (J)
#75 Julien Pintus – Timothée Alquier
#76 Benoit Martin – Anne-Laurence Breton