Now in its fourth season, the Rallye de France – Alsace took place in changeable weather, with scattered showers and variable grip conditions giving drivers a headache when it came to making tyre choices. Making light of the elements, however, the crews competing in the Renault Sport range of cars managed to shine.

Competing for the France FFSA Rallye team and backed by Renault Sport Technologies, Jeremie Serieys and Justine Quillet enjoyed a stunning weekend. In what was their debut in a WRC event, the reigning French Junior Rally champs drove the Renault Twingo R.S. R2 Evo into second place in their class, just missing out on a top-20 finish in the overall classification. After turning in a storming display on Saturday afternoon, they kept the pace up on Sunday to complete the 310-km course without making a single mistake.

Nicolas Romiguiere and Alexis Negre, the winners of the 2011 French Junior Rally title, also starred, taking third in the R2 class in their Renault Twingo R.S. R2 Evo and 24th place overall, beating a number of drivers in more powerful cars. Also finishing among the leading 30 drivers in a Twingo R.S. R2 Evo were 2012 Swiss Junior Rally champions Thomas Joris and Stephane Fellay. Appearing in their first WRC event as reward for their national title, the Swiss duo acquitted themselves well and crossed the finish line safely in Strasbourg.

With the ongoing support of Renault Sport Technologies, Jeremie Serieys and Justine Quillet will now continue their French Championship programme at the Rallye d’Antibes. The pair have been in convincing form in their last few domestic outings and will be looking to maintain their momentum as the event makes its return to the calendar. With the Twingo R2 France Trophy absent from the Antibes card, their counterparts in the Twingo R.S. R2 Evo will be putting in their next appearances at the Critérium des Cévennes.