The 30-strong field for the Twingo R1 Trophy looked resplendent as it lined up for the first round of the season. Returning competitors were joined by a number of new faces, all eager to be let loose on the fast roads of the Côte d’Opale. And with dry weather forecast for day one, conditions were relatively mild as the competitors took to the course.

Florian Bernardi justified his favourite status early on, clocking fastest times in the first two stages. Debutant Julien Rambault also turned heads by setting the fastest time in the highly challenging Verton stage, but it was Bernardi who finished the first section on top, ahead of Charles Martin and Rambault.

After a long break, the first round restarted and continued into the night. Jean Philippe Dunand set the best time in the Touquet super special stage, before Bernardi bettered his effort with a further two fastest times. The Vaucluse native eventually returned to the parc fermé 16.5 seconds ahead of Damien Defert, and with an advantage of 22.1 seconds over Martin and 27.6 over Romain Fostier, who was quickest in stage seven. A gap had now opened up between the front-runners and the chasing pack, with nearest contender Julien Rambault already more than a minute behind.

It was another grey start to Saturday, and the skies became increasingly threatening as the day progressed. Bernardi started the first run by setting the fastest time, but was soon brushed aside as Charles Martin took control. Despite not knowing the route, Martin set four consecutive fastest times, while things went from bad to worse for Bernardi. A mistake in stage 11 saw his lead reduced to less than five seconds, before an electrical fault in stage 12 left his car immobilised and unable to continue.

All Martin had to do now was keep his cool and cruise to victory. In the final two stages, which took place in the rain, Rambault finished superbly and succeeded in snatching second place from Fostier. Meanwhile, Damien Defert, who started the third-from-last stage in second, could only manage to finish in fourth place after driving a little too cautiously in the wet conditions.

Jean-René Perry, the youngest driver in the field, rounded off the top five. The result represented something of a turnaround in fortunes for Perry, who last year suffered a nasty crash at Le Touquet and needed several weeks of hospital treatment as a result.

Benjamin Hanquiez and Frédéric Hauswald finished sixth and tenth respectively, but were later disqualified for breaching tyre regulations. This meant that Antoine Massé, Cédric Coste, Jéremie Serieys, Mathias Wouters and Jean Jouines completed the top 10 for the first round. Yohan Saillat, meanwhile, chalked up a point in the French Junior Championship.

The rally also saw the Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo make its debut, with reigning French Junior champions Nicolas Romiguière and Alexis Nègre at the wheel. The pair, who have been top of the R2 class since the start of the second round, devoted the weekend to putting Renault Sport Technologies’ latest creation through its paces.

Twingo R1 Trophy standings – Rallye du Touquet 1. Martin/Devos 2:23:59.7; 2. Rambault/Merceron +33.5; 3. Fostier/Abchiche +48.4; 4. Defert/Diottin +1:06.7; 5. Perry/Millet +2:27.2; 6. Massé/Delacour +3:02.0; 7. Coste/Urzedowski +3:25.5; 8. Serieys/Quillet +4:04.3; 9. Wouters/Gainet +5 :28.4; 10. Jouines/Villani +7:37.5; 11. Saillat/Marty +8:11.9; 12. Caplan/Bichon +8:36.2; 13. Lebiez/Dhote +9:20.8; 14. Notargiacomo/Delon +11:46.3; 15. Lieffroy/Ehrhardt +13:38.7; 16. Dhaisne/Jombart +17:34.3; 17. Humeau/Pla +55:49.2

Overall standings, Twingo R1 Trophy 1. Charles Martin 25 pts; 2. Julien Rambault 18 pts; 3. Romain Fostier 15 pts; 4. Damien Defert 12 pts; 5. Jean-René Perry 10 pts; 6. Antoine Massé 8 pts; 7. Cédric Coste 6 pts; 8. Jérémie Serieys 4 pts; 9. Mathias Wouters 2 pts; 10. Jean Jouines 1 pt

Overall standings, French Junior Championship 1. Charles Martin 25 pts; 2. Julien Rambault 18 pts; 3. Damien Defert 15 pts; 4. Jean-René Perry 12 pts; 5. Antoine Massé 10 pts; 6. Cédric Coste 8 pts; 7. Jérémie Serieys 6 pts; 8. Mathias Wouters 4 pts; 9. Jean Jouines 2 pts; 10. Yohan Saillat 1 pt