After the summer break, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte competitors met in Morzine to mark the halfway point of the season. Following the recce and shakedown in glorious sunshine, Clément Didier, Alfred Sablonnière, Michaël Durigon and Franck Giraud each won a Michelin tyre following a prize draw organised by Ceerta, the official Michelin Motorsport distributor in the French Rally Championship.

Winning for the first time in the Vosges, Paul Dachicourt picked up where he left off by setting the first fastest time. Whilst Alex Florenson and Louis Gass shared the top spot in SS2, the leader continued to extend his lead before putting the hammer down. Following the neutralisation of SS4, the Fun Meca Sport driver was again the quickest in Les Clefs – La Clusaz, where Oliver Sørensen hit trouble. Romain Brun moved up to second place ahead of Romain Fostier, who had got back into contention thanks to his best time in the evening special stage.

On Saturday, Paul Dachicourt showed no sign of letting up, again setting the pace on the Morillon – Samoëns and La Côte d’Arbroz – Taninges stages. Between the two tests, the order changed behind gim. Romain Fostier posted the fastest time between Samoëns and Morzine to snatch second place from Romain Brun, who was now under direct threat from Yohan Roumieux.

Despite holding a lead of over a minute before the final loop, Paul Dachicourt added two more fastest times to his tally before securing his second consecutive victory in the Clio Trophy France Asphalte alongside his sister Adèle. The family duo won with a margin of victory of 1m11.4s over Romain Fostier and Ophélie Abchiche, who were on the Morzine podium for the fifth time in seven years with Clio Rally5. Behind them, Yohan Roumieux and Bastien Fontaine won the battle for third place against Romain Brun and Aurélia Chevalier.

Victorious at the season opener in Le Touquet, Maxence Potard and Maxence Biegalke finished fifth ahead of Léo Véricel and Jade Gaston, and Fabien Combe and Fabien Chèze, who scored their best result in the trophy to date. William Gagnière finished eighth on debut with co-driver Benoît Gay, whilst Néo Rivallant and Yannis Gosselin, and Loan Guibal and Stéphane Crespin completed the top ten.

Buoyed by his latest success, Paul Dachicourt further extends his lead, now sitting 122 points clear of Romain Fostier in the general classification and 128 points clear of Maxence Potard in the Juniors’ category. The Pas-de-Calais native also tops the Jean Ragnotti Performer classification. Romain Fostier, meanwhile, leads the Gentlemen’s class and has helped Garage Jamet take the lead in the Renault Network Challenge, whilst Clémentine Benoît remains the highest-placed woman.

The Clio Trophy France Asphalte next heads to Rallye Cœur de France (25–27 September), the replacement event for the Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie, which was cancelled in July. The penultimate round of the season is now shaping up to be crucial for many contenders for the various titles ahead of the season finale in the Cévennes.

Paul Dachicourt : “We took the lead early on and then managed to step up when it mattered, before showing that we were capable of repeating our performances. That meant we went into the second day with a comfortable lead, but we still had six special stages to go, including some tough ones. Adèle and I stayed focused and worked well with the team, as well as Christophe, Manon, and Tom, to name a few. There are so many people behind this victory, so it’s absolutely brilliant. After our success in the Vosges, we came here to win. There was no question of starting to play it safe when we weren’t even halfway through the season. That was our aim, and we’re coming away with a huge haul of points. There were moments when it was particularly important not to overdo it, but we’re really very pleased with our performance. Looking ahead, the key will be to be smart and to finish every rally. We’re starting to build up a decent lead, but we mustn’t rely on the joker. The aim will be to keep scoring as many points as possible at every round and, if we can win, we won’t hold back !”

Clio Trophy France Asphalte – Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine
1. Paul Dachicourt – Adèle Dachicourt (J) 2h04m22.5s
2. Romain Fostier – Ophélie Abchiche (G) +1m11.4s
3. Yohan Roumieux – Bastien Fontaine+1m17.5s
4. Romain Brun – Aurélia Chevalier (J) +1m25.4s
5. Maxence Potard – Maxime Biegalke (J) +1m59.9s
6. Léo Véricel – Jade Gaston (J) +2m25.7s
7. Fabien Combe – Fabien Chèze +2m49.5s
8. William Gagnière – Benoît Gay +2m52.7s
9. Néo Rivallant – Yannis Gosselin (J) +3m04s
10. Loan Guibal – Stéphane Crespin (J) +3m43.7s
11. Nicolas Paviet-Roche – Mélodie Bellavarde +4m27.9s
12. Christophe Truchet – Barbara Truchet +4m41.8s
13. Jérôme Janny – Hélèna Pêcheur +5m19.2s
14. Pascal Bérard – Caroline Bérard (G) +5m36s
15. Killian Marry – Adam Thouez (J) +5m57.3s
16. Michael Durigon – Mylène Richard (G) +6m25.1s
17. Maxime Chagot – Bertrand Chagot +6m44.8s
18. Grégory Scotto La Chianca – Florian Chardon (J) +7’19’’0
19. Vincent Chagot – Alexandre Le Du (J) +7m46.2s
20. Jacques Bourrat – Jean Bourrat (G) +8m05.1s
21. Thomas Van Outryve – Johanna Della-Pina (J) +8m18.3s
22. Thomas Santiago – Sarah Pernet-Coudrier (J) +8m30.3s
23. Tanguy Rubin-Delanchy – Julien Rubin-Delanchy (J) +10m00.1s
24. Alfred Sablonnière – Antoine Montheilhet (J) +10m47.4s
25. Franck Giraud – Christophe Dubien (G) +13m47.1s
26. Mathieu Duclos – Valentine Donat-Magnin +15m30.3s
27. Clémentine Benoit – Éric De Bolle (J, F) +15m41.2s
28. Maxence Girard – Ricardo Gil Mateus (J) +43m57.3s
Ret. Alex Florenson – Charline Dichamp (J)
Ret. Alexis Poso – Lou Cardot (J)
Ret. Clément Didier – Anne-Laurence Breton (J)
Ret. Robin Duarte – Paul Bernie (J)
Ret. Louis Gass – Alison Girard (J)
Ab. Tom Le Jossec – Christophe Leroy (J)
Ret. Paul Missillier – Alexian Parmentier (J)
Ret. Oliver Sørensen – Frederik Glad (J)
Ret. Arthur Guillaume – Élodie Ruszkowski (J)
Ret. Lilou Boulangé – Margot Petit (J, F)
DNS. Louis Bottin – Titouan Andreux (J)