The best placed of the Twingo R.S. R2 crews at the Rallye Pays du Gier and second in the R2 class, Georges and Valerie Gonon set their sights on nothing less than victory at Grasse. Posting the two fastest times on Friday evening, they took to the top of the standings from Xavier Baze/Anne Onno, Jonathan Fra/Leo Occhipinti and William Pitot/Alexis Estival, and continued in the same vein on Saturday, though Baze did manage to pull to within eight seconds of Gonon on SS5.

The pair continued to fight it out through to the final special, in which Baze cracked a brake disc following a shunt. Jonathan Fra’s chances of making the most of Baze’s misfortune ended when he went off, allowing Georges Gonon to push on and claim a superb win. Completing a one-two-three for the Twingo R.S. R2s were William Pitot and the pairing of Jordan Mottard and Thierry Devaux, while Marvin Sorin and Karine Moinet marked their Renault Sport Challenge debut with a fine fourth place. The result allowed Gonon to extend his lead in the R2 standings over Pitot and Mottard.

After turning in an excellent performance in the season’s opening round of the Renault Sport Challenge and yet failing to finish, Maxime Goetz made a strong start in the R1 class. With Nicolas Merulla beside him, Goetz outpaced the field in stage one, heading off Nicolas Renchet/Sophie Joram and Theo Chalal/Sarah Mancini. On the next stage the third-placed crew slipped down the standings after suffering a puncture, while Aurelien Lafont and Aurelien Verdenet shot into the lead.

Hampered by a puncture of his own on Saturday, Goetz dropped out of contention for the win, leaving Lafont and Renchet to battle it out with just a few seconds between them. Though Lafont came home first, he was later disqualified for a technical infringement, giving Renchet 25 points to go with the 18 he collected at the Rallye Pays du Gier and move into the overall lead in the R1 class ahead of Romain Auvert, who sat out the event, and Theo Chalal. Goetz recovered well to take second and now lies joint fourth in the GC.

Finally, Pascal and Caroline Berard took the honours in the opening special in the R3/N4 class only for Jerome Chavanne and Emilie Galleano to reel them in after stage two. Lying in wait, however, were Laurent Lacomy and Sebastien Mattei, who had Kevin Despinasse and Isabelle Sicard keeping them close company. After catching Berard on Saturday morning, Lacomy then went head-to-head with Chavanne for the win, with both drivers giving as good as they got. The Megane R.S. N4 driver led by seven tenths of a second after the penultimate special, while Despinasse was forced to retire after crashing and twisting his rear axle. Lacomy then went fastest in SS7 to seal the win from Chavanne and Berard, though it was Chavanne who had the honour of moving out front in the Renault Sport Challenge R3/N4 standings, ahead of Lacomy.

Rallye de Grasse Fleurs et Parfums: final standings

R3/N4 class
1. Laurent Lacomy – Sébastien Mattéi (Renault Mégane R.S. N4) 1:26:29.4
2. Jérôme Chavanne – Emilie Galleano (Renault Clio R.S. R3) 1:26:39.9
3. Pascal Bérard – Caroline Bérard (Renault Clio R.S. R3) 1:27:34.8

R2 class
1. Georges Gonon – Valérie Gonon (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) 1:27:09.8
2. William Pitot – Alexis Estival (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) 1:29:44.8
3. Jordan Mottard – Thierry Devaux (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) 1:30:43.5
4. Marvin Sorin – Karine Moinet (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) 1:31:08.0
5. Sylvain Canut – Sarah Salelles (Renault Twingo R.S. R2) 1:39:07.9 …

R1 class
1. Nicolas Renchet – Sophie Joram (Renault Twingo R.S. R1) 1:33:36.7
3. Maxime Goetz – Nicolas Merulla (Renault Twingo R.S. R1) 1:37:55.1
5. Théo Chalal – Sarah Mancini (Renault Twingo R.S. R1) 1:47:20.9 …

Renault Sport Challenge standings after the Rallye de Grasse Fleurs et Parfums (2/10)

R3/N4 class
1. Jerome Chavanne: 36 points (18, 18)
2. Laurent Lacomy: 33 (8, 25)
3. Pascal Berard: 30 (15, 15)
4. Boris Carminati: 25 (25, DNC*) ...

R2 class
1. Georges Gonon: 43 points (18, 25)
2. William Pitot: 33 (15, 18)
3. Jordan Mottard: 15 (DNC, 15)
4. Marvin Sorin: 12 (DNC, 12) …

R1 class
1. Nicolas Renchet: 43 points (18, 25)
2. Romain Auvert: 25 (25, 0)
3. Theo Chalal: 22 (12, 10)
4. Emilien Sanlaville: 15 (15, DNC)
4. Maxime Goetz: 15 (DNC, 15) …

* Did not compete