Points leader Axel Garcia arrived in Le Var as the favourite to win the French Junior Rally Championship, needing only to finish in the top three to take the title. Partnered by Xavier Castex, closest challenger Florian Bernardi made an impressive start as he went in search of the win he needed to have any chance of depriving Garcia of the title, taking an early lead ahead of Simon and Julie Lebiez. Third at the end of leg one, Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares were nevertheless well placed to achieve their ultimate aim.

Florian Bernardi set about consolidating his lead on Saturday morning, while Simon Lebiez pushed hard as he sought to keep distance between himself and Axel Garcia. Events took a dramatic turn on SS8 when a mechanical problem brought Florian Bernardi’s race to an early end, the third season in a row that his Twingo R1 Trophy hopes have vanished into thin air in Le Var.

Safe in the knowledge that the title was now safely his, Axel Garcia went on the offensive on Sunday. His duel with Simon Lebiez reached a climax in the penultimate special, when both drivers posted exactly the same time, with only 2.5 seconds separating them as they headed into the last 8.93 timed kilometres of the rally. Unfortunately for Simon Lebiez, he went off in that final stage, handing Axel Garcia a third win of a hugely successful season that has ended with him securing a seat in a Renault Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo for next year’s French Rally Championship. Taking second place on the Rallye du Var Twingo R1 Trophy podium were Jean Jouines and co-driver Mathieu Delrieu, with Jordan Mottard and Thierry Devaux third.

“The Rallye du Var is a fantastic event, and we had a lot of fun the whole way through,” said the victorious Garcia. “We came away with the win too, which is just magical. I didn’t honestly think I’d be successful in my first season in rally. I wanted to show how fast I was but I wasn’t thinking about winning a title. I started to believe after Mont-Blanc, where we had a great drive. I’d like to thank Renault Sport Technologies for their support and I hope 2014 will bring us a lot of pleasure.”

Twingo R1 Trophy – Rallye du Var – Final standings
1. Axel Garcia/Fabien Pomares 2:41:36.1
2. Jean Jouines/Mathieu Delrieu +4:55.3
3. Jordan Mottard/Thierry Devaux +8:54.0
4. Taymoor Marar/David Paleni +27:43.2

Twingo R1 Trophy/French Junior Rally Championship overall standings
1. Axel Garcia 111 points
2. Florian Bernardi 81
3. Simon Lebiez 53
4. Laurent Pellier 51
5. Gabriel Lieffroy 49
6. Jean Jouines 31
7. Olivier Floret 30…