Following their disqualification for a technical infringement at the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine, Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares were intent on making up for lost points on their home roads in Les Cévennes. Cheered on by their fans, they stole into an early lead ahead of championship rivals Florian Bernardi and Xavier Castex, scoring most of the fastest times in leg one to end the day more than 40 seconds ahead of the field. The pair were at it again in the following morning’s opening special, mastering the damp roads and staying out front for the rest of the day to secure a win that puts them right back on course for the trophy.

Not quite their usual composed selves, Florian Bernardi and Xavier Castex could do nothing more than defend their second place, which came under threat from Jean Jouines and Mathieu Delrieu at the end of day one. The Twingo R1 Trophy leaders had a more relaxed start to the second day, however, after their closest pursuers went off.

Unforeseen delays in proceedings would then have serious consequences for Bernardi and Castex, the winners of the two previous events. The duo had failed to plan for such an eventuality and went into the last and longest stage of the rally, conducted in darkness, without headlights. Their advantage over their nearest challengers melted away on the 37 kilometres between Valleraugue and ND de la Rouvière, with Laurent Pellier and Julie Faure, Simon Lebiez and Julie Lebiez, and Gabriel Lieffroy and Laurine Ehrhardt all jumping past them in the GC.

Despite finishing less than ten seconds off second place, Florian Bernardi and Xavier Castex dropped eight crucial points as a result of that final stage and lost the lead in the Trophy standings to Axel Garcia and Fabien Pomares, who just need to finish on the podium in Le Var to win the Twingo R1 and French Junior Rally titles.

“It’s just incredible to win here. Words can’t describe it,” said Axel Garcia. “We had friends cheering us on everywhere on the roadsides and they were jumping up and down like kangaroos when we went by. It really spurred us on and we tried to give them something in return. We are happy with the pace we had and we stayed focused till the end. I didn’t expect Florian to lose ground like that in the last special. Three crews finished between us, and that’s really set us up nicely in the championship. We’re back in the lead now and we’ve got every chance heading into the Rallye du Var.”

Meanwhile, the fight for third goes on. Simon and Julie Lebiez are the current occupants thanks to their third place in Les Cévennes, their second in a row. Two points further back lie Laurent Pellier and Julie Faure, whose second place in Montpellier was their best result of the season. Having scored a fourth top-five finish of the season, Gabriel Lieffroy and Laurine Ehrhardt remain well in the hunt too.

Stage winners in SS1, Olivier Floret and Vincent Groulier remain sixth overall despite retiring at the weekend when they crashed. One point behind them in the GC lie Raphael Astier and Valentin Suchet, who were sixth in Les Cévennes.

The last round of the Twingo R1 France Trophy season will take place at the year’s final French Rally Championship meeting, the Rallye du Var, on 22-24 November.

Twingo R1 Trophy – Critérium des Cévennes – Final standings
1. Axel Garcia - Fabien Pomares 2:04:37.7
2. Laurent Pellier - Julie Faure +1:56.4
3. Simon Lebiez - Julie Lebiez +2:00.6
4. Gabriel Lieffroy - Laurine Ehrardt +2:04.2
5. Florian Bernardi - Xavier Castex +2:05.4
6. Raphaël Astier - Valentin Suchet +6:29.9

Twingo R1 France Trophy standings (after round five of six)*
1. Axel Garcia 86 points
2. Florian Bernardi 81 points
3. Simon Lebiez 53 points
4. Laurent Pellier 51 points
5. Gabriel Lieffroy 49 points
6. Olivier Floret 30 points
7. Raphaël Astier 29 points …

*Points totals include each crew’s lowest score, which will be discarded at the end of the season.