As is often the case in the Twingo R2 Trophy, competition was fierce from the start, as Nicolas Romiguiere and co-driver Alexis Negre strung together fastest times in the first three specials to surge into the lead. The winner of the inaugural French Junior Rally Championship and the recipient of a drive in the Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo by Renault Sport Technologies last season, the Aveyron driver has shown his potential in making a strong start to the 2013 Twingo R2 France Trophy campaign. By the halfway stage of day one he held a 25-second lead, with Manu Guigou/David Marty and Yann Clairay/Thomas Roux tussling for second place.

After clawing back 10 seconds in SS4, Manu Guigou moved into the lead when Nicolas Romiguiere went off in SS5, the early leader eventually rejoining the rally after losing a full 12 minutes. Meanwhile, a broken steering rod gave Yann Clairay no option but to retire. There were no such problems for Manu Guigou, who picked up the pace to hold off Mathieu Sentis and Gil Vallette and pull out a 30-second lead by the end of the first day, with Dimitri Audet and Leo Occhipinti a little over a minute further back in third.

Manu Guigou suffered a bad start to day two when he was given a 50-second penalty for checking-in late, relegating him to second place behind Mathieu Sentis, though fastest times in two looped specials allowed the man from Vaucluse to regain the lead by SS9. Sentis then relinquished second place to Dimitri Audet before the final special, only for Audet to then lose more than two minutes to allow Sentis back into the runners-up spot. Fortunately for Audet, he held on to take third from Georges and Valerie Gonon. Further down the field Nicolas Romiguiere was relieved to finish sixth after his problems and move out front in the Twingo R2 France Trophy standings from Manu Guigou and Yann Clairay.

Manu Guigou: “I am thrilled with this win. We made a few adjustments to the chassis and the Twingo Renaultsport R2 Evo felt great to drive. I had to attack on leg two to maintain my position, and the tyre choice was not easy. My experience showed, though, and I chose the right tyres at the right time. This win is the perfect way to start the season.”

Jeremie Serieys shows plenty of pace

Competing as a non-registered driver with Justine Quillet, Jeremie Serieys continued his French Rally Championship programme with Renault Sport Technologies. The French Junior Rally champion got off to an excellent start, posting the fasting times in the Twingo R2 class in SS2 and SS3, placing him 23rd overall. After hitting a bank in SS4 he dropped back slightly before finishing strongly to end the day 18 seconds behind Twingo Renaultsport R2 Trophy leader Manu Guigou. Serieys found the same pace on Saturday but had to retire after running off the road in SS12.

Twingo R2 France Trophy, Limousin: Final standings
1. GUIGOU Emmanuel – MARTY David 2:10:35.6
2. SENTIS Mathieu – VALETTE Gil +48.7
3. AUDET Dimitri – OCCHIPINTI Léo +3:12.1
4. GONON Georges – GONON Valérie +3:44.3
5. MACKERER Pascal – RISSER Hubert +6:57.3
6. ROMIGUIERE Nicolas – NEGRE Alexis +13:41.5

Twingo R2 France Trophy: Overall standings
1. ROMIGUIERE Nicolas 26 points
2. CLAIRAY Yann 25 pts
2. GUIGOU Emmanuel 25 pts
4. SENTIS Mathieu 18 pts
5. AUDET Dimitri 15 pts
5. INGRAM Chris 15 pts
7. GONON Georges 12 pts
8. MACKERER Pascal 10 pts …