Nothing short of a revelation in the French Rally Championship, Laurent Clutier has also been making quite an impact in the Twingo R2 France Trophy, and should he secure his fourth win in five legs at this weekend’s Critérium des Cévennes, the title will be his. Out to stop him will be Romain Salinas, who still has hopes of taking the trophy.

Laurent Clutier and Romain Salinas have been fighting it out all the way through the 2012 Twingo R2 France Trophy season, an important fixture on the French Rally Championship card. With their exceptional performances, the two have shown the huge potential of the Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo against far more powerful and costlier models.

Three times Laurent Clutier has got the better of his title rivals during the campaign, with Romain Salinas scoring his solitary win at the Rallye Aveyron Rouergue.
This latest leg will see the two go head to head on home ground, where another Laurent Clutier victory will make the trophy his, while Romain Salinas needs to outscore his opponent to keep his hopes alive.

While the rest of the field might not be gunning for the title, they do have plenty to motivate them in what is a highly competitive category. Former Twingo R2 France Trophy winner Georges Gonon, Jonathan Fra, Anthony Balester and Yohann Trivino all have points to prove, while Belgium’s Laurent Wilkin will be out to showcase his potential in the Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo once more.

This, the fifth leg of the season, will also see Guillaume Sirot get to grips with a Renault Sport car. A regular adversary of Twingo R2 France Trophy drivers in the R2 class, the man from Auvergne has been unable to resist the lure of the Twingo R2 Evo for the penultimate event of the season.

The 55th Critérium des Cévennes will follow a long circular route between Montpellier and Ganges with a single service park at Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois. The programme for Friday and Saturday features 12 special stages run on six different routes, two specials on each.

Extract from the rally regulations
The Twingo R2 France Trophy is open to teams driving the Twingo Renaultsport R2 and the Twingo R2 Evo.

Points allocation: 1st place - 25 points; 2nd -18; 3rd - 15; 4th -12; 5th - 10; 6th - 8; 7th - 6; 8th - 4; 9th - 2; 10th - 1.

Prize allocations: 1st place: €2,500 plus €2,500 in vouchers and eight tyres; 2nd: €2,000 plus €2,000 in vouchers and six tyres; 3rd: €1,500 plus €1,500 in vouchers and four tyres; 4th: €1,000 plus €1,000 in vouchers and two tyres; 5th: €700 plus €800 in vouchers.

Each driver’s best five results of the season will count towards the Twingo R2 France Trophy standings.

55th Critérium des Cévennes
Entrants
33. Laurent Clutier/Brice Brun 

34. Romain Salinas/Benjamin Micheli 

35. Georges Gonon/Valerie Gonon 

36. Jonathan Fra/Loic Remy
37. Anthony Balester/Thomas Boschetto
38. Laurent Wilkin/Eric de Bolle
39. Yohann Trivino/Christophe Fournier
40. Guillaume Sirot/

Schedule
Thursday 25 October
17.00: Start (Montpellier)
18.50: Finish (Ganges)
Friday 26 October
07.45: Start
08.30: Service park (Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois)
09.23: SS1 La Cadière – Sumène (12.76 km)
10.18: SS2 Taleyrac – Mandagout (9.35 km)
11.08: SS3 Le Vigan – Pommiers (21.21 km)
11.45: SS4 Mars – Aumessas (8.98 km)
15.56: Service park (Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois)
17.09: SS5 La Cadière – Sumène (12.76 km)
18.04: SS6 Taleyrac – Mandagout (9.35 km)
18.54: SS7 Le Vigan – Pommiers (21.21 km)
19.42: SS8 Mars – Aumessas (8.98 km)
20.57: Service park (Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois)
21.52: Parc fermé
Saturday 27 October
07.45: Start
07.55: Service park (Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois)
09.18: SS9 Soudorgues – C. du Mercou (7.20 km)
10.26: SS10 Tourgueille – ND de la Rou (42.02 km)
14.18: Service park (Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois)
15.41: SS11 Soudorgues – C. du Mercou (7.20 km)
16.49: SS12 Tourgueille – ND de la Rou (42.02 km)
19.11: Service park (Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois)
20.56: Finish (Montpellier Odysseum)